This is the fourth chapter of this series, one that continues to put a different, more Sci-Fi spin on the age-old vampire myth.
Because it's science fiction there are aliens, good ones and bad ones, and yes, the good ones are here to stand against those who would suppress the more fragile human race, but they don't appear yet, have faith, they'll show up in chapter 5, Maura, the lead character, just has to deal with a few adjustments to her world view, landing on Earth was a big one, bloodlust another. While there still is no actual sex in this chapter, there is a lot of action to keep you occupied, be patient, it'll happen.
This chapter could be rated PG-13 for action, but I still like to caution my readers. I hope you enjoy it, leave a comment once you've read it. Good feedback is the lifeblood of any writer...dreamweaver594.
4- Morey's Bar
Near sunset the at the end of the following week, Maura left the corner market up the street from Morey's Bar carrying a couple of small bags filled with the few groceries she could afford having borrowed a few dollars from Natasha as she still didn't have the necessary paperwork in hand to complete her application.
Morey's was a local watering hole where most of the college kids around that part of town liked to hang out. It was just far enough from campus to feel like it was an oasis all on its own, and yet close enough for anyone to find a friend.
Her backpack was slung over one shoulder and her blade, still shrouded in a velvet bag and bound to the backpack, was slung next to it. The cravings that sent her into a tailspin last Friday were still lingering, but not as strong at the moment. She was still in a quandary about how to handle that, now on Earth.
She stopped a moment and wondered if Jason was in Morey's. He told her once that he liked to hang out there. She remembered him telling her how comfortable he felt there. "It sort of felt a little bit like a tavern we have back home," he said.
Where was his home, she wondered? He never told her. He didn't seem like a city dweller; maybe the mountains or a small village nestled between them. She hadn't spoken to him since that incident Friday afternoon, at the apartment building. She hoped that he was okay and that what happened didn't screw things up between them. This week was spring break, school was closed and she did see Jason at all. She walked by the apartment complex a couple of times but didn't see him outside. Actually, Natasha was gone too; she left for her home in Latvia during spring break last Sunday. The workroom was rather lonely with everybody gone; even Mrs. Williams and Mrs. Warren kept a holiday schedule.
Then a fleeting thought entered her mind. She heard her father's voice again. "Look for the dark ones, Maura, the ones whose hearts have been twisted and perverted by the shadow of greed; they are the ones who prey upon their fellow humans. They are the ones who must be cleansed." Why did that come to mind? Suddenly she felt her urges rise.
Maura's reverie was broken by a giggle from a young woman who had just emerged from the bar. She walked a bit unsteady and stumbled once as she stopped to adjust her high-heeled shoes. Several others emerged just after her. Two of them appeared to be her friends. "Hey Sally, you going to be alright?"
In the dim light she nodded and smiled.
They pointed in the opposite direction. "We have to go this way. You okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm just parked over there," she said, with a slight slur to her speech and pointing in the opposite direction, "It was fun tonight, let's do it again next week."
Maura stood at the corner. Stupid girl, she's too vulnerable.
Sally teetered on her heels as she moved down the sidewalk towards a car parked near an alley. Out of the alley, two men appeared and blocked her path, both of them looked haggard and dressed like some of the guys she'd seen in the shelters. One look in their eyes revealed their intent.
"Hey cutie, what are you doing out here so late? Huh?" Their sweaty faces pushed closer to the young woman. "Why don't you come with us, baby?" The larger one grabbed her arm. "Yeah, we can have some fun,"
"Leave me alone, asshole! Don't touch me!" the shorter m said, leering.
The shorter man jerked her arm toward the alley. "Stop your hurting me!" Although she shouted, Sally's friends had already turned the corner and were gone.
Maura walked down the sidewalk and leaned against a nearby building across from the young woman and her two assailants. Damn it, I shouldn't get involved, especially not in public, but I hate rape. Maybe they'll just rough her up, a little robbery, nothing too much. She dropped her bags and pack on the ground near her feet. The scene unfolding in front of her seemed a curiosity at first, then, her senses flaring, the smell of the darkness stirred her blood. Crap, they're going to rape her, she could feel it, her cravings returned with a vengeance, and she craved their blood.
The two men grabbed the young woman and pulled her further into the alley as she screamed in protest. One of them pulled his pants down as the other began to tear off the young woman's skirt.
"Stop, please, don't hurt me! Oh God, what are you doing? Nooo!"
The hand of the man who tore her skirt off pinned her to the ground. His other hand muffled the last of her screams. With her dress torn to shreds the bigger of the two men began to force her legs apart. Both men laughed at her struggles.
Further up the street Jason turned the corner and recognized Maura leaning against a brick wall. He was about to shout to her when he heard a young woman's muffled voice pleading not to be hurt. In that instant he watched Maura cross the street in a blur to disappear into an alley. Seconds later a man flew, literally flew, across the street arms flaying out of control, and slammed into a building several feet off the ground. He slumped to the sidewalk below with a thud, unconscious.
Jason ran down the street to stand where Maura stood only moments before. The unconscious man looked like a lump of trash heaped against the wall. In the alley he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
The young woman was lying limp on the ground weeping uncontrollably as Maura held her assailant off the ground with a single hand. He was clearly more than twice her weight yet she held him up as if he was weightless. She had a vice-like grip on his neck and her nails dug into his throat attempting to pinch off his windpipe. He struggled weakly like a limp rag doll in her grip. Then she slowly lowered him towards her mouth.
Lit only by a single back door light bulb, the alley was filled with shadows making it hard for Jason to make out any details. But as she lowered the struggling man towards her mouth a glint of something long, sharp, and pearly white appeared in her smile.
"Maura?" Jason whispered in the eerie silence that surrounded the scene.
Maura turned to Jason standing at the entrance of the alley. His face was white. She could sense his fear. Still holding the thug in her hand she looked back at the gasping cretin. Holy Blood, no, not you Jason! Why here, why now? She didn't ever want him to see this! Damn, I can smell his fear. Maura tried to silence his mind, to cloud his memory. But nothing happened. Why couldn't she? Why didn't she have any control over him? He was human wasn't he?
"Oh Jason, I'm so sorry," she whispered softly. Maura turned away from him and dropkicked the thug with all her might. He sailed down the alley and landed in a pile of trash bags and garbage cans with a loud crash and thud. Then, in a blur, she jumped to the end of the alley, turned the corner and was gone.
Jason ran down the alley to the stand above the thug lying unconscious in a pile of trash. He was still breathing, faintly; blood was seeping from the scratch marks on his neck. "It's probably more than you deserve, dirt bag," he muttered as he turned and walked back up the alley towards the trembling young woman.
Above him, from the roof of the building, Maura stood watching as Jason walked back to the young woman. She felt dread in her heart, she knew she must have lost him, there was no way he would mistake her actions for anything other than what they were. Damn it all. One of the two friends she had in this world and he had to see her like this! Why did she have to be so careless? Stupid bloodlust, it ruined everything.
Jason pulled out his cellphone and punched in some numbers. Kneeling down, he pulled the young woman into his arms and tried to comfort her until help arrived.
At least that woman was getting his help. She was so stupid; she didn't deserve his kindness, still anything was better than rape. Maura quietly slipped back into the shadows and waited.
After the ambulance left with Jason and the young woman, Maura dropped down from the roof of a nearby building and walked slowly towards the semi-conscious man still lying sprawled in a heap of trash bags.
The heels of her boots clicked rhythmically against the concrete of the alley floor. She was in no hurry; he wasn't going anywhere. As she walked closer to him, Maura's nose was filled with the odor of rotting garbage along with a vile stench that emanated from the man's aura. This was obviously what her father was talking about, a rotten human.
She bent over, sat him up, and held his face in her hands. She wasn't even sure if he was worth cleansing. She slapped him twice to bring him around. Then she probed into his mind, gathering up all the rotten memories he ever had of women who he'd raped or sodomized. She wrapped them into a neat little bundle and tied them off so that he would never have access to them again. She projected a thought into the recesses of his mind. "
From now on, scum, the little thing between your legs will be useless, even to your own hand."
Then she opened her mouth and brought his throat up to her. Her fangs pierced his skin and sank deep into his neck. Like syringes, they drew out his tainted blood, as vile as the aura that surrounded him. He squirmed as she drew his blood out of him. He repulsed her so much it nearly made her wretch.
