Part Three
It was nearly three in the afternoon when the van passed the, “Welcome to Daytona Beach, Florida” sign. It was Giles’ turn to drive, with Kimberly as navigator. They couldn’t have asked for better driving conditions; the sun was shinning, the traffic was light...and Tamara was fast asleep in the back.
“Is she still asleep?” Giles asked, looking into the rear view mirror.
“Out like a light,” Kimberly smiled, “I knew this would happen. She was sooo wired last night, what with every thing that happened, I’m surprised you didn’t hear her.”
“Yes, well...” Giles grinned, “I’m so used to incessant chatter, I tend to block it out. I did hear her rustling about, though.”
“Yeah, I felt like I was at a slumber party,” She paused at looked back at Tamara. She was curled up, practically in a ball, breathing softly. Every once in a while, a murmur could be heard, but other than that, she was the picture of an angel. “She looks so cute when she’s asleep,” Kimberly smiled. “Too bad she’ll have to wake up soon.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“So,” Kimberly asked slyly, “you’re a Watcher, right? Exactly what do you watch?”
Giles pulled the van to a stop light, turned and gave Kimberly a frown, “It’s not like that.”
“What?”
“I saw that look you gave me...”
“What look?” Kimberly batted her eyes.
Giles sighed and shook his head, “That look! I train the Slayer to fight vampires, demons...”
“And the forces of darkness,” she finished for him, “Yeah, I know...you told us that already. But, what do you do? I don’t see you as much of a ‘standing in the sidelines’ kinda guy. Even wearing all that tweed. You were just too good at fighting off those vampires last night.”
Giles smiled shyly, “Yes...well...I do what I can. Living on the Hellmouth, you need to be an active participant in the battle against evil...”
“Hellmouth?”
“Yes,” he explained, “It’s a center for mystical forces...and a gateway to the demon dimension...”
“Sounds like East Stroudsburg,” Tamara, yawned. “We there?”
“Yep,” Kimberly nodded, “And good afternoon. How long have you been awake?” she asked, as the van lurched forward.
“Long enough...” she whispered, climbing into the rear passenger seat. She gave her friend a Cheshire smile, and kept quiet.
“Right,” Giles said, unaware of the interaction between the two women, “Where do we go now?”
Kimberly pulled out her instructions, glanced back at Tamara, who was still smiling, and cleared her throat, “Ah, well...let me see...According to this...we’re not far. The place is called Book Ends. Book Ends? We have to go to a book store?”
“I wonder what object we have to find?” Tamara asked.
“Well,” Giles said, pointing to the shop on the right, “I suppose we’re about to find out.”
They found a parking space, stuck several quarters in the meter, and made their way to the little book shop. Tamara smiled as she heard the light, airy sound of the bell, announcing their entrance. “Hi, honey,” she chuckled, “We’re home.” Then spotting a shelf of new arrivals, she skipped over to it and cooed, “Oooo.... ‘Star Wars’....new......must buy....”
“Okay, kiddo,” Kimberly sighed, pulling her away from the hard covers, “now, don’t drool over the nice books. You damage it...you buy it...and that’s not something you can afford right now.” Then peeking at the price, she cringed, “Or ever.”
“Aw....mom,” she pouted, “Please-oh-please-oh-please. Just one,” She saw the tag, Kimberly had seen earlier, and shook, “Ah...never mind. I’ll wait ‘till it’s out on paperback. So, who do we see?”
Almost as if on cue, a tall woman approached them, “You must be team 17. Welcome to Daytona. You have been expected.”
“How many teams have been here already?” Kimberly asked, looking around the old style book shop.
The handsome woman shook her head, “That’s something I can’t tell you, but I can give you this.” She held out a large envelope. On it was written “Team 17”. She handed it to them and smiled, “Here’s your packet. Good luck on the rest of your journey, and I hope you enjoy Daytona...and *all* it has to offer.”
“I wonder what she meant by that?” Giles asked, as they walked out of the building.
“I don’t know,” Tamara said, ripping open the envelope, as though it was Christmas morning, “But I’m dying to find out what we have to....hello? What’s this?”
She held up three tickets, a set of instructions, and a riddle.
“Hey,” Kimberly said, taking the tickets from her, “These are tickets to the Daytona 500.”
“And this,” Giles added, holding up the instructions, “is where we have to go next....Memphis, Tennessee.”
Tamara, climbed into the van and furrowed her brow.
“What is it?” Kimberly asked.
She sighed and read the paper for a third time, “It doesn’t say what we have to get. It just has this stupid riddle on it.”
“Well,” her friend encouraged, “don’t just sit there...read it.”
“Okay...but I don’t get it,” she said, “here it goes... ‘To get a piece of me, you have to fast. I’m the favored one of the race, but that might not last. Catch me...and you too will earn your fame. If not...it would really be a shame.’ What the hell does that mean?!”
“Daytona 500...favored one of the race...” Kimberly repeated, the wheels where spinning, “I need a news paper. I have to know who’s racing.”
They went to a vendor and Giles bought that day’s paper. Kimberly quickly turned to the sports section, her eyes flying down the page to the racing article. “Ah ha!” she exclaimed, “I’ve got it! Tomorrow, at four o’clock is the Daytona 500...”
“We already know that,” Tamara huffed, “It says so on the ticket...”
“Right,” Kimberly went on, “And the favored racer would be....Jeff Gordon...Oooo...cool!”
“Oh, I get it,” Tamara placed her hands on her hips, “So all we have to do is go to the race and steal something personal from him...Is Uncle Sal NUTS?! How the HELL are we going to do that?! I mean, I know bupkiss about racing...but even I have heard about Jeff Gordon...”
“Who?” Giles asked.
“You don’t get out much, do you?” Kimberly smiled at him.
“Forgive me if I don’t understand the interest in watching a bunch of cars drive around in circles...for hours.”
“Then you’ve never been to a race,” Kimberly laughed, “It’s the crashes that brings in the crowds.”
“Of course,” Giles replied dryly, “destruction, and violence...that makes MUCH more sense.”
“Um, guys,” Tamara, stomped her foot, “I think we are all missing the point here. How the HELL are we going to get within two feet of him...never mind trying to get something personal?!”
“I see your point,” Kimberly agreed, “but since the race is twenty four hours away...we have plenty of time to figure that out.”
Giles paced back and forth, “Might I make another suggestion? Since this is not the Cross we are going after, why don’t we just take the option to travel on to the next locale?” He was greeted by two pairs of eyes, “Or perhaps not.”
Kimberly headed back to the van, “So, what do we do in the mean time?”
Tamara, rooted through one of her suit cases, and pulled out a multi-colored bathing suit, “Well, Daytona isn’t only known for it’s car racing...I say we hit the sand, and the waves....” she gave a devilish grin, “and the cute, beach guys.”
“There’s one problem with that,” Giles pointed out.
“What?”
“I don’t have any swimming trunks.”
Kimberly smiled and took Giles arm, “Rupert, I don’t think that should be a problem. All we need to do is find a store...and know your pant’s size.”
“But, I...”
“Come on.”
“But, I...”
******
“I can’t believe our bloody luck!” Nigel hissed, pacing back and forth at Terry’s Truck Plaza, “First we get pulled over by that...that...and now, this WONDERFUL car,” he turned to Philip, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “that you took such great pride in renting, is bellied up, being fixed by some man with more hair on his face than the ‘missing link’...”
“Well,” Patrick said, “At least we didn’t get into too much trouble with the magistrate.”
“TOO MUCH TROUBLE!?” Nigel practically popped a blood vessel, “Having to pay a 600 dollar traffic violation isn’t ‘too much trouble’?! Are you out of your bleedin’ mind?! Our expenses didn’t include run in’s with the local authorities. That comes out of our own pockets! The next time you decide to play “King of the motorways”, you do it on your own time!”
“Well,” the mechanic said, wiping the grease from his hands to his coveralls, “I figured out what your problem is.”
“Brilliant,” Nigel sighed, “What is it?”
“You need a new water pump, and radiator hose.”
“Terrific,” he sighed again, “How long will it take to fix it?”
“Oh, I’d say ‘bout two hours.”
They all smiled.
“That is, if I had the part here.”
Their smiles quickly faded. “And how long will it take for you to get the part?” Nigel asked.
“Well,” he said, spitting a wad of tobacco out onto the dirt ground, “that all depends.”
“On what?” Philip asked.
“If I can get the part locally...or if I have to send out for it.”
“Wonderful,” Nigel sighed, “We’ll be getting something to eat...let us know, as soon as you can. It’s very important we make it to Florida as soon as possible.”
“You know,” the mechanic said, “you’re the second person in two days that said that. My night attendant, Tom, told me ‘bout this English guy, who come through here last night. Him and his two cousins where trying to get to Florida to go to a family funeral...or sumptin’ like that.”
“This Englishman,” Nigel squinted his eyes, “wouldn’t have happened to been dressed in tweed, and traveling with two women?”
“Yep on both counts,” he nodded, “You related to them too?”
“I suppose you could say that.”
“Well, then,” he said, “I’ll try to get that part as soon as I can. I mean, I don’t want you to be missing your Cousin Ted’s funeral, or nothin’.”
“Thank you.”
“Hey,” the mechanic hollered after them, “Are there a lot of circuses in England?”
******
It was almost dark when they pulled into the “Red Rose Inn”. Tamara was the first to hop out, grinning from ear to ear, “I can’t believe this,” she said, looking at the red car in the parking lot, “Harvey and those guys are staying here too. Cool!”
“And by the looks of it,” Kimberly observed, pointing to several other familiar vehicles, “so is just about everyone else.”
“Well,” Giles said, shifting painfully out of the driver’s seat, “I hope they have a vacancy.”
“Sunburned much?” Tamara grinned, slapping him on the shoulder.
“Ow!,” he exclaimed, “YES, DAMNIT! And I thought the sun was harsh in southern California.”
“You ain’t seen nothing till you’ve been to the Sunshine State,” Kimberly chimed.
“So, I’ve learned.”
“Why do you think I put on, like SPF 4000?” Tamara shook her head, “I went to Florida to visit my grandparents when I was a kid...got burnt silly. I was sick for a week with sun poisoning. Boy, did that piss them off....and me too. But, I learned my lesson well...if I can’t where a suit of armor...I take along the next best thing...sunblock.”
“Thank you for that commercial announcement,” Giles groaned, as they headed to the front desk.
“The water was nice though,” Kimberly said, “Like being in a bath tub.”
“If I wanted to take a bath,” Giles grumbled, “I would have done so in the privacy of my own washroom. And out of the glaring sun.”
“Yeah,” Tamara nodded, “For once, I have to agree. I’m a northern girl...I’m used to swimming in water temps that are more than a few degrees below the air temps. Give me Jones, or Long Beach any day...”
“And I’ll give you medical waste...” Kimberly teased, “And syringes...don’t forget the syringes...”
“Hey,” she said, defiantly, “the needles makes the swim that much more challenging. And besides, at least we don’t have to swim with the sharks.”
“One word for you, dear...Jaws.”
“Oh, details.”
“Look, if you two ladies are through with the friendly banter, I would like to get us two rooms, and get something to eat,” Giles grumbled.
“Ooo,” Tamara said, “Someone’s all cranky.”
“Sun burn’ll do that to you,” Kimberly tried not to giggle.
“I’ll be right back,” Tamara said, heading for the rest room in the lobby, “Get the rooms..while I...well...you know.” Then, whispering to Kimberly she added, “Don’t do anything while I’m gone.”
Kimberly shot her a dirty look, as she watched her friend skip merrily off to the bathroom.
“What was all that about?” Giles asked, stepping up to the desk.
“Uh, nothing,” Kimberly said, a bit too quickly.
******
As Tamara walked into woman’s room, she heard a familiar voice, “Hey, you. What took ya so long?”
“Hi Laura,” Tamara smiled, “We had van problems...and some other problems. But here we are...”
“Here we ALL are,” Laura added, “It seems like everyone in the race has some kind of weird radar or something. Note, all the familiar cars in the lot?”
“Yes I did,” she laughed, washing her hands, “We just got here. We’re gonna check in, wash up and grab a bite to eat.”
“Well, there’s a bar connected to the place,” Laura offered, “They serve food there. At least that’s what the guy at the desk said. But I don’t know about the music...sounds less like Nine Inch Nails, more like Nanci Griffith.”
“Oh.”
“My thought’s exactly.”
Tamara, headed for the door, “Well, if we drink enough, maybe the music will sound better.”
“I can only hope.”
“Well,” Tamara said, pushing open the bathroom door, “I’ll catch ya later. Have you eaten yet?”
“Nope. And I’m starved.”
“Cool. Me too,” Tamara smiled, “See you at dinner.”
******
By the time Tamara joined her team mates, Giles had managed to bring in the necessary luggage from the van. He set them down and gave her a pained look. “Well, we have a room,” he announced.
“Great!” Tamara skipped.
“No,” Giles corrected, “I mean we have a room.”
“There was only one room left in the place,” Kimberly explained, “And we got it.”
“Okay,” Tamara nodded, “so what’s wrong with having only one room? It’s not like we all have to share one bed, right? Right?”
“Well...” Giles said, pensively, “the manager is trying to get us an extra cot. But other than that...there’s only one queen size bed.”
Tamara looked at both adults and shrugged, “No biggie.”
She was met by only stares.
“What?” she continued, “When I was in college, every weekend my room mates and I would have a ton of people sleep over. We had people sleeping in chairs, beds and the floor. Believe me, I got very used to camping out on the floor...not a problem.”
Giles shook his head, “You’re not going to sleep on the floor.”
“Oooo, a gentleman, are we?” Tamara grinned, picking up her bag, “Well, ‘Mister Man’, since you are on a this proper kick...you wouldn’t mind me taking the first shower?”
“Only if you can beat me to the room,” Kimberly said, dangling the keys, and making a mad dash to the room.
Tamara smiled and raced off to follow her.
Giles shook his head, and picked up the remaining bags, “And I thought it was strange living on the Hellmouth.”
******
The food was everything Tamara had hoped for...rich and oh, so tasty. Say what you will about the south, Tamara thought, as she finished the last bit of gravy on her plate, but they sure know how cook. The conversation was light and cheery, trying to steer clear of any mention of vampires and things that went bump in the night.
Harvey was recounting their adventures on the road with his usual flair, “So, we were flying down 95...”
“Flying would be about right,” Michael laughed, “I didn’t think his car could go THAT fast.”
“...and all of a sudden,” Harvey stands up and motions with his hands, “I catch a glimpse of flashing lights in the rear view.”
“We where sooo busted,” Laura giggled.
“Yeah, and he wanted to see if we could out run him,” Michael added.
“Hey, I pulled over...eventually,” Harvey defended, “So, anyway...the cop pulls us over and strolls up to the car,” he began to imitate the trooper, “ ‘Scuse me sir...but did you know how fast you were going?’ I looked at him and said, ‘I was kinda hoping you’d tell me.’”
“You didn’t,” Tamara laughed.
“He did,” Michael and Laura replied in unison.
“So, then what?”
“So, he then says... ‘Oh, I suppose you think you’re a wise guy?’ I said, ‘No sir, if I was wise, I wouldn’t have gotten caught.’”
“Let me guess,” Kimberly laughed, “You now have a wonderful ticket the size of Montana.”
Harvey gave a wicked grin, “Ticket? What ticket?”
Tamara stood up, and grabbed the empty pitchers, “I’m gonna go snag us some more beer. Be right back.”
Michael got up and went to follow her. She stopped and shook her head, “I can get it. Really I can.”
“I just thought...”
“I know,” Tamara insisted, “but I’m fully capable of getting us some brew without the need for assistance. Trust me on this one.”
As Tamara bounded off for the bar, Michael shook his head and sat back down, “She’ll never change.”
“What?” Giles asked.
“Miss. I-am-independent-woman-hear-me-roar,” Laura said, taking another bite of her corn on the cob.
“She hates when people think she’s a weak, dumb woman,” Michael went on to explain, “Always has been....at least since I’ve known her.”
“And how long has that been?” Giles inquired, finishing off his beer.
“About six years,” Michael said, “Since she moved to the Poconos. Before that...well, she doesn’t really talk too much about her past...I mean she does, but I get the feeling there’s more than she’s saying.”
“Ah,” Giles nodded, looking toward the bar, “I see. Tell me something else about her...does she always tend to attract trouble?”
“Huh?” Michael said, turning toward the direction of the bar, and seeing the three big, burly men gathered around Tamara, “Oh, for crying out loud....”
He jumped up and moved quickly to the bar, just in time to hear the last part of the conversation that was taking place...
“And what’s wrong with the way I dress?!” Tamara hissed, “At least I resemble something of this century. I mean, gentlemen...you all look as though you should be returning to the civil war. And that hair style...woohoo! Buy yourselves a new weed wacker...the one your using, needs a new blade. And while we’re on the subject...”
“Uh, Tamara,” Michael warned.
“Mike,” Tamara waved her hand, “not now...I’m having a lovely conversation with the banjo brothers here.” Turning back to face her acosters, she continued, “And while we’re on the subject of appearances...I seriously hope you don’t think I find you attractive...I mean the wad of chewing tobacco, dribbling out of your mouth, maybe a turn on to horseflies, and dung beetles...but it’s a real turn off for any normal woman, with half a brain, and any kind of personal hygiene.”
One of the larger of the three men turned to Michael and slurred, “You best take your little lady outa here, before her mouth gets her into trouble.” Then looking her up and down, “Course, if you want...I can take care of her for ya...”
Michael was not a short man by any stretch of the imagination, and he used his height to his advantage. He stood straight up, and pushed himself into the man’s face, “You touch her,” he growled, “and you will have wished you were back in the civil war.”
The two other men saw Harvey and Giles both stand up, and quickly backed down, leaving only the ring leader to defend his honor, “Why don’t all you tourist go back to where you belong. We don’t want you here. We have our own way of life, and you come her and fuck it up.”
“Poor baby,” Michael hissed, “Live with it.” Then turning to Tamara, who was now a lovely shade of red, said “Come on Tam, let’s go.”
He practically dragged her back to the table, away from the locals. Once they reached the “safe zone”, he let go of her arm. At which point, she promptly hit him square in the shoulder, “I was handling myself quite fine, thank you very much!”
“You were about to get eaten by Buba the Killer Redneck...are you nuts?!” Michael shouted back
.
“He started it!” Tamara stomped her feet, “That Neanderthal called me a freak! Only my close personal friends can call me that!”
“I only thought that you...”
“What...needed help?!” Tamara hit him again, “Why does everyone think I can’t handle myself?! I was having a battle of the wits with them....and winning!”
“Well,” Kimberly tried to make light of the entire event, “you did out gun them by about 100 IQ points.”
She huffed, walking away from the table, “I need some air!”
That prompted Giles to get up, “Um, Tamara, I don’t think that would be a good idea. It’s terribly dark out there.”
Tamara turned to the Watcher and gritted her teeth, “I’m just going out to the van to get me some real tunes! Chill, Rupert! I’ll be right back!”
“Well,” Harvey stood up, and stretched, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m gonna get my beer.”
Giles went to follow Tamara, when he was stopped by Kimberly, “Rupert, leave her be. She’ll be fine...she just needs to vent some steam.”
“This venting of hers is going to get her killed,” Giles whispered to her.
“Nah, not with you watching over her,” Kimberly smiled, “Now,” she grabbed his arm, and dragged him to the dance floor, “take me on a spin...this is actually a song I like.”
“I’m not very good at...”
“Dancing?” Kimberly finished, “So. Neither am I. We can have a blast tripping each other.”
“But, you’re married.”
“And why should that stop me from dancing with a friend?”
“I have no idea.”
Kimberly smiled, as he lead her across the dance floor, “I thought so.”
******
“ ‘I thought you needed help’,” Tamara said to herself, as she walked across the parking lot, “Shit! If I needed help I would have said...”
“Help?”
Tamara stopped in her tracks at the voice coming from behind her, “You guys just don’t give up do you?” she said, turning around to see, not the rednecks that bothered her only minutes ago, but...
“Help.” She whispered, looking at the vampire blocking her only route back to the building.
“Hello sweetness,” The demon said. His voice was oozing with desire. Desire to kill!
Tamara looked at him, looked at building he was blocking, then smiled. Giving a nervous chuckle, she bolted to the only place she knew she would be safe...the van. She ran as fast as she could, taking out the keys, and getting them ready for a quick unlock. She reached the van, and thought she had outrun her chaser, when he rounded the vehicle, and grabbed her hard.
“Don’t fight me darlin’,” he purred, “and I promise it won’t hurt...much.”
“That’s what they all say,” Tamara struggled, kicking him in the shins, “And I don’t believe them either.”
Tamara raced around to the other side of the van, and quickly popped the keys into the lock. Just as she was going to open the door, the vampire was on her again, this time, from behind. The more she struggled, the harder he squeezed, until she felt the air leaving her lungs.
‘Oh, my god,’ she thought, ‘I’m going to die!’
******
Inside the Red Rose, Giles and Kimberly danced, unaware of the mortal danger their team mate was in outside. Their conversation was light, adhering strictly to the rules of dance etiquette, but it was refreshing none the less. Kimberly like Rupert. Here was a devastatingly handsome man, who had no idea just how devastatingly handsome he really was, and all he was concerned with, was being a gentleman.
‘If I wasn’t already married,’ she smiled to herself, as he twirled her around the dance floor. ‘Then again,’ she thought, ‘if we don’t win this contest, that might not be an issue.’
She was skating on thin ice with her husband...not that she blamed him. She did, after all, leave him to watch the kids, in the middle of summer, to run off on a wild goose chase with someone she had only known for a year, and spend their hard earned money, in the hopes of winning...
Winning what? One hundred thousand dollars, split three ways. Yes, it could solve their financial problems...but at what cost? Her Marriage? Why couldn’t life be as neat and tidy as a good novel?
“What did you say?” Giles asked, looking at Kimberly curiously.
“Huh?” she asked, not realizing that she said anything, “Did I say something?”
“Well, you looked as though you wanted to.”
“I did?” She looked down, embarrassed, “I hadn’t noticed.”
“What I was going to ask you,” Giles said, “is, why didn’t your husband come along with you?”
Kimberly sighed, “We have three boys, Rupert. Someone had to be the sensible one.”
“You’re a very sensible woman,” he smiled.
“Well, compared to Tamara,” she laughed, “I’m Ms. Sensibility....”
“She is definitely a character,” he grinned, rolling his eyes.
“You think? Nah, she’s a good kid, and a good friend...just...unique.”
“And never boring...”
“Nope. Of course,” she said, looking passed him, “our lives are about to become more interesting,” Kimberly directed his attention to the five men rapidly approaching them. In the lead, was the ousted redneck from earlier.
“Lovely,” he said, through a fake smile, “Let me handle this.” Then addressing the men, he said, “What can I help you gentlemen with?”
“You made me, look like an idiot! Embarrassed me in front of everyone!”
“Look,” Giles tried to reason, “I don’t want any trouble, really. I apologize for what the young lady might have said earlier. If there is anything we can do to make up for this...”
“Yeah,” the man sneered, “you can take your foreign ass, and your bitch girlfriend outa here.”
Giles gave the man a cold, hard stare. Harvey and Michael had moved closer, waiting to see what was about to come. None realized that this seemingly mild mannered Librarian would do...what he was about to do.
“You know,” Giles said calmly, with a slight grin, “you really shouldn’t have said that about the lady.”
Without a second thought, his fist flew out and hit the man square in the nose. Blood gushed from the center of his face, as the redneck staggered backward.
“You broke my nose!” he cried out, “You fuckin’ broke my nose!”
Harvey and Michael looked at each other, and smiled. “Bar fight!” They said in unison, as they jumped into the fray.
Kimberly and Laura stood in the background, as the men duked it out, and shook their heads, “Thank god Tamara’s not here, right now.” Kimberly said.
“Yeah,” Laura nodded, “She’d probably be right in the middle of it.”
“At least she’s safe outside.”
******
Earl pulled the U-haul into the parking lot of the Red Rose, just as Tamara was storming out. He couldn’t believe eyes! There she was, in all her red headed, chickieness...and she was alone. Alone! He quickly hopped out of the driver’s side and moved to open the back door. Marvin and his group of vampires filed out and stretched.
“I hate long rides,” Marvin grumbled, “It’s hot and stuffy...and I’m hungry.”
“Don’t worry,” Thomas assured his boss, “We’ll find some real nice ‘home cooking’.”
“Um, yeah,” Earl clapped his thin hands, “but, ah first....you want to get our little chickie? I mean, look at her, she’s just out there all by her lonesome, with no one around...”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Marvin pointed to the vampire that sneaked up behind her, “Looks to me, like one of our brethren already has his designs on her.”
“What?!” Earl cried out, “hey, she’s mine! You promised!” He watched the vampire chase her to the van. “I gotta rescue her!”
Marvin just smiled as Earl bounded off, “Oh, yes, Earl. Go rescue the little damsel in distress. We can’t have someone else making a meal of what belongs to us.”
******
Tamara felt light headed.
She wanted to fight. She NEEDED to fight. But she found that she was powerless against the strength of a demon.
“Now, hold still, pretty,” the vampire cooed, as he brought his fangs closer to her neck, “and close you eyes....you’re gonna get a big....”
Suddenly she heard an inhuman scream, and felt dust swirling around her, as she fell to the ground. She was still alive! Oh, man...was she ever still alive!
She looked around, stood up and was greeted my a skinny man, “Oh, man...you don’t know how much you just save my ass. Thank you!”
“Not a prob, Red,” the little man smiled, “I couldn’t let that scumbag vampire ruin a pretty little thing like you. You got fire in ya...I like that in a human.”
“Human?” she squinted her eyes, “Then...what exactly are you?”
Earl’s smile never left him, as he stepped closer to her, “I’m a demon, of course.”
“A demon.” Tamara said, shaking her head, and placing her hands on her hips, “You have GOT to be kidding me, right?!” She balled her small fists up and gave a little snarl, “First I get into it with a bunch of rednecks, then I nearly get eaten by a vampire...and now, I’m rescued by a demon?! Who the HELL are you people?! Don’t you have better things to do with your spare time?!”
“Hey, Red,” Earl said, backing up a bit, “cut me some slack, willya. I just saved your life, right. So now, you like owe me something.” He had that look on his face, that Tamara had seen before. And one in which, he’ll so regret making.
“I owe you?”
“I’ve been wanting you ever since you took off,” he made a motion with his hands, “You zoom zoom along, like a bat outa hell. That’s just such a turn on.”
“Jesus,” she hissed, under her breath, “What? Have you been following me?” Then it dawned on her, “You’re one of the guys at truck stop, aren’t you?”
“Hey,” Earl said, “Don’t take it personal or nothing. We weren’t going to hurt you...just borrow you for a while...ow!”
Tamara hit him hard in the eye, “Borrow me?! What the hell do I look like to you...a library book?!” She hit him again.
“Ow! Come on Red, don’t be like this....OW! Hey, quit it! That hurts.”
“It’ll hurt a whole lot more, if you don’t get the hell away from me!” She growled, kicking him in the groin.
“Now, cut it out!” Earl moaned, as he tried to avoid the relentless strikes of a very angry red head, “that’s very un-lady like...ow!”
******
Marvin and Thomas watched the scene with growing amusement. Earl was right about one thing...this little chickie did have fire.
“So, he was going to rescue her...huh,” Thomas sighed.
“Yes, so it would appear,” Marvin grinned, motioning to the two other vampires, “Now, gentlemen...would you please go rescue him?”
******
“Un-lady like?! Un-lady like?!” she shouted, kicking him again, “I’ll give you un-lady li....oh, shit!” Tamara saw the two vampires running toward the van, “Why is it you guys always seem to travel in groups?”
She ran around the van, as the vampires gave chase. ‘Here we go again,’ she thought, trying to get enough time to open the damn door to the damn van.
After about thirty seconds of ring-a-round the rosie, she managed to pull open the van door. Success at last! All she needed to do was to make it around another pass, and she could hop into the van. She heard a voice, shout, “Are you guys going to catch her, or play with her for a while?”
“Okay,” one of the vampires said, reaching out to grab her, “that’s it! No more games. This ends right now!”
At that moment, Tamara managed to dodge out of the way....right into the open van door. She fell to the ground with a thud, out cold.
“Ooops,” the vampire said, “I guess we played too hard.”
“What the hell did you do to her?!” Earl shouted, kneeling by her side, “You knocked her out! I was doing fine with out your help!”
“You were getting the shit kicked out of you, who are you kidding?” the black hair vampire bit back, “We did you a favor.”
“By knocking her into next Tuesday?!”
“Hey, quit complaining. She’s all yours now.”
Earl rolled his yellow eyes, and grumbled, “Yeah, well, I like my women conscious, thank you.”
“Picky, picky.”
******
“Now THAT was fun!” Harvey gave a hearty laugh, “I haven’t been in a bar room brawl in...well, I don’t know how long! And, man, did they know how to brawl!”
Michael turned to Giles and grinned, “Hey, you didn’t too to shabby, there...old man.”
“Yes,” Giles sighed, “now can we please go, before the authorities arrive.”
“What,” Harvey teased, “you’re the one who threw the first punch...remember?”
“Well,” Giles defended, “that boorish man insulted Kimberly.”
“Yeah,” Kim said, taking his arm, “I say, he deserved what he got!” Then turning to Giles, she smiled, “And they said chivalry was dead.”
“Can we please go, now?” Giles pleaded.
“Yeah, sure,” Kimberly pouted. Then she looked around and asked, “Where’s Tamara?”
“She went out to the van to get music,” Laura offered, “remember? She’s probably sitting there know, listening to cool tunes...and missed the whole thing.”
“Tamara wouldn’t have stayed out there alone...unless...” Giles said, speeding up his steps.
Kimberly had a near panicked look on her face, “Ohmygod! You’re right! She wouldn’t!”
They both looked at each other, then looked to the van...
“Tamara!” they both shouted, racing off toward the vehicle.
“What was that about?” Harvey asked, puzzled.
“I don’t know,” Michael said, running after them, “But I’m gonna find out!”
When Giles and Kimberly reached the van, they saw, Earl in the process of picking a very unconscious woman off the warm blacktop. The two vampires with him, hissed at the intruders. Giles quickly whipped out a large cross and waved it at them, backing the two demons up.
Earl looked at Giles and sighed, “I hope you don’t think that will work on me? I ain’t no vampire.”
“How about I kick the crap out of ya!” Michael snarled, “Let her go!”
Earl and the two vampires, saw Harvey and Laura join their friends, and backed up. They were out numbered, and the damn Watcher had a cross. Who knows what else he had up his sleeve. There would be another time, Earl figured. And when that comes...Red will be conscious for him.
Earl, dropped Tamara to the ground, “You won this one, Watcher....but we ain’t out of it yet. Tell, Red...I still think she’s the best.”
They ran off to the U-haul, which spun out of the parking lot, leaving a cloud of dust in it's wake.
Giles quickly knelt down next to Tamara, who was now in the arms of Michael. She moaned softly, as he checked her for any tell tale marks of a vampire attack. When he found none, he gave a shaky sigh of relief.
His relief was short lived, when Michael pushed him away from her, “What the HELL was that?! Vampires?! Demons?! You have a lot of explaining to do!”
“Ow...owowow....” Tamara moaned, opening her eyes, “Can you guys argue quietly...I have a really bad head ache.”
******
The local police arrived shortly after, herding the group back into the bar. While Michael was sitting with Tamara, holding an ice pack on her throbbing head, they questioned each and every one of them. Finally after an hour of interviews with all those in the bar, the officer came back over to the group.
“Yes, officer,” Giles sighed.
“Good. And another thing...we’ll keep a look out for the guys you described, I mean, how many muggers do you know of that travel in a U-haul?” he said, “And you may want to take her to see a Doc. A nasty knock on the head like that, ain’t something to take lightly.”
“Believe me, sir,” Giles nodded, “I’m fully aware of that.”
“You a doctor?”
“No, just had a LOT of experience.”
“I’m NOT going to the Doctor,” Tamara groaned, rubbing her temples, “I just have a head ache. I’ll be fine.”
“Suit yourself, Miss. It was just a suggestion.”
******
They entered the room Giles rented, and Michael gently laid Tamara down on the bed. He propped her head up on a pillow, and kept the ice on her forehead. When everyone settled down, Giles began his explanation...again.
As soon as he finished, he received the usual ‘you’re out of your mind’ responses, then finally the acceptance from the other team. Giles shook his head wearily. In the course of two days, his undercover operation was known by, his team mates, her friend in Ohio, and now...Harvey and his team. This was NOT turning out to be what he expected.
“Okay,” Harvey, who was the first to speak, said, “This is what we’re gonna do. If we want to get this Cross of yours and still win the treasure hunt...we’re gonna have to work as a team,” He turned to Tamara, who was cradled in Michael’s arms, “You still got that cell phone of yours?”
“Yeah, in the glove compartment,” she mumbled.
“Great,” he said, “We each go for the items, keeping in constant contact with each other. At the end of the race...we pool them together. That should double our chances of winning...”
“Can we do that?” Laura asked.
“Why not?” Kimberly smiled, “I doesn’t say anything in the rules about NOT being able to do that.”
“And Uncle Sal, will be royally pissed, if he knew we were able to bend the rules like that,” Tamara said, “I like it already.”
“Now,” Giles added, “If you find the Cross before us...”
“Then we’ll fork it over to you as soon as we can,” Harvey agreed.
“But, what if another team finds it,” Michael asked.
Giles looked at this rag tag group of allies, “Then we get it any way we can....agreed?”
“Agreed!”
“And I thought this trip would be boring,” Kimberly laughed.
Three seconds later, the whole room was enjoying the humor of the situation...and forgetting the very real danger that they had just put themselves in.
