“Who are you!? What do you want?!” the man snarled, pulling his wife closer to him and looking around the room for his daughter I presumed.
My father soothed, “Easy, slow down. We didn’t do this to you, and we killed the guys who did.”
“Are you going to kill us?” the wife cried.
“No, we’re not going to kill you. At least, not yet. Listen, I'm going to cut the bullshit and get straight to the point. Hi, I’m John Velika, and this is my daughter Serina. We’re what you call hunters. We hunt monsters. Any monster you’ve known to be imaginary are very real.
“You all are now Vampires. I don’t know why they changed you, but now you get a choice. You’re innocent until you prove otherwise. You can live out the rest of your immortality peacefully, or you can be a menace to society. The choice is yours.” My dad pulled out a card and handed it to the man. “Here. His name is Briggs; he’ll help you transition into your newlifestyleand stay on track.
“There’s a blood bank down the road off Highway 16. Only travel in the dark, as the sun will kill you. When you go, ask for Barbra. She can give you enough blood to hold you off for a little while.”
“And if we don’t stay on track?” the man asked, his brows furrowed.
“Then you’ll be seeing us again.” My dad looked between him and his daughter. It was as if I could see the very understanding between two men who had a family to take care of. “Have a good day—”
The man cut in, “David. My name is David. And this is my wife Sarah, and my daughter Emma…”
“It would have been better to meet you under different circumstances, but it’s still lovely meeting you. Good luck,” my dad said as he walked toward the door and I followed.
My dad draped his arm around my shoulder as we made it to the top of the stairs.
“Thank you,” Sarah called from the bedroom.
We both looked over the railing and could see them all sitting on the bed together watching us go. My dad and I paused.
“For giving us a chance,” she finished.
“Everyone deserves a chance. Now, we never want to see you again.” My dad gave them a smile, and then we walked back to our vehicles with a sad silence lingering between us.
2
Serina
Darkoilpouredoutof the drain plug into the pan under my motorcycle. It had been too long since I had done an oil change.
“Gimme that box wrench, honey, I can’t find my other one. I need to get started on mine,” my dad called over from underneath his 67 Chevy Impala. He had tried to get his drain plug off himself, but he seemed to be having some trouble.
I moved to crouch over by his car to hand him the wrench and then went back to finishing the oil change on my motorcycle. My father had always been into the classics. It was a hobby we had grown to share and love over the years.
It made sense. Being hunters constantly on the move, of course the thing we grew a knack for would be the vehicles that got us everywhere we went. It was nice to have a hobby other than killing that put a smile on our faces; that’s what our vehicles were to us, an outlet when we had to constantly be on the go, or an outlet to distract us when we weren’t.
The latter had been true since our last hunt. It had only been two days, but it had taken a toll on us. Both of us had been tinkering with our cars together ever since we made it to Fredericksburg yesterday.
Everyone had ways of coping, and this was just one of ours.
I loved my motorcycle. It was an all-black, classic CB Series with mounted saddle bags on either side to hold my weapons. It made well for easy getaways, and I enjoyed the freedom I felt while riding.
Chilly nights were always the best nights to go for a ride to clear my mind. I was sure I’d always enjoy it, but I couldn’t deny that I would love to have my dad’s car one day. It was stunning.
“You ever going to give her to me?” I asked, nodding to the car, and he paused his wrenching, oil leaking into the pan until it stopped. Then he poked his head out, giving me a crazy-eyed look. I couldn’t hide my chuckle.
“You can have her when I’m dead,” he said, easily sliding back under the car to put the plug back on. “And even then, I don’t know, I might crawl back from the depths of hell just to take her with me.”
I laughed then. Honestly, I wouldn’t doubt if he had gone to hell a time or two. Our hunts could lead us anywhere.
I finished up my oil change, then wiped my hands.
“Are we going on another hunt before Friday? I asked.
