Vixen stepped in with Dasher on her side. Her blue suit made her wary eyes pop. She swallowed when she saw Prez and held on to her brother’s arm.
“Drop your things and meet us outside,” Prez told her and stepped down the porch.
Dasher squeezed her shoulder. “It’s okay. I’ll be right here. Remember what I told you this morning.”
She tugged on her bag. “What’s going on?”
“You’ll know everything in a second, Reindeer.” Dasher turned and stepped off the porch as well.
We lined up, Prez and Dasher out front, patched brothers behind them and prospects in the back. The sun was still out, casting red orange hues in the horizon and the woods, but soon it would be dark. Really dark.
When she emerged, Dasher told her to stay on the porch.
“All right, Dasher, would you do the honors?” Slasher mocked.
VP took a long breath, pulling at the edges of his cut, and stepped to the side. “Vixen, you wanted to know what happened to me at the army, what got me here? Well, out there, it’s a jungle. You never know what might hit you. The weird shit we get to see is not always something you can explain with science.”
“Malcolm, we already talked—”
“Please just listen to the end before you say anything,” he interrupted her. “Long story short, Sis, I was attacked by something. An animal. A species I’d never seen before, the size of a tank and didn’t die with bullets.
“It ripped my body, gnashing on my flesh. I wasn’t dead yet, so I felt everything. I prayed for death, already given up. At least, I’d be with Mom and Dad, right? But your face…” His voice cracked. “Your face kept me tethered to this earth. So I prayed again, to survive so I could see you one more time.”
Tears rolled down Vixen’s face. “Malcolm… We haven’t even spoken since the last time you were deployed. You never called when you returned. Why have you never told me any of that?”
“Because God answered my prayers in the weirdest way ever. That night, the beast got off me but another dug its teeth into my neck. I didn’t know what was happening. I woke up, knowing nothing but one name, with a bitter taste of blood in my mouth. Then I realized that in order to survive, I had to die, then come back to life…as something else. Something I know you’ll have a hard time to accept.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked desperately.
“I’ll show you. Just…try not to pass out.”
“What?”
Dasher’s eyes dilated into black holes. He bared his teeth, where fangs slowly grew before turning sharp and glinting.
Her eyes bulged as she hissed like a terrified cat. “What is this?”
“This…is what I had to become. What I am. A vampire.”
Her breaths accelerated. Her gaze flickered between Dasher and the rest of us, lingering on Prez. “Is this some sort of a sick prank, you bunch of psychos are pulling on me?”
“This is not a prank, Vixen. I wish it was,” Dasher said.
“Professor needs more evidence, Demons,” Prez said. “Who’s next?”
Mad Dog stepped forward and started to take off his clothes. “Me.”
“What are you doing?” she whimpered.
“Just…rest your back on the wall and watch.” He crouched down and shifted. Then he shook his blond fur and wagged his tail, blinking at her.
Trembling, she clutched the wall. Then her ass hit the floor. She bent her knees to her chest, gasping for air. “This can’t be true. This can’t be real.”
Inferno blazed a fireball in his hand. “It is, Miss Legend. Prez and Dasher are vampires, Mad Dog is a werewolf, and I’m a demon. I can pop up the horns, but you look too terrified to take it.”
She seemed to be scared the most of Inferno. “Oh my God. A demon?”
“I’m sorry,” Inferno said.
