Bride of Blood:: First Kiss (5 page)

Anton and Alexander jumped the gate and stood near the road and waited for Rick.
 
Anton pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
 
Alexander shook his head in disapproval.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“Don’t you know that no one smokes anymore?” he asked.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“Really?” Anton answered taking a deep drag, “since when?”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“Since mortals learned that it can kill them. And besides, almost every restaurant and bar in the world is smoke-free these days.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“Damn,” Anton said dropping the cigarette and stomping it out.
 
“I wish these damn mortals would make up their minds!
 
It seems like only a few years ago everyone was smoking!”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Within a few minutes Rick pulled up to them in his van.
 
Anton and Alexander quickly got in.
 
They sat in the back seat with Chelsea, Rick’s daughter.
 
Anton whispered something to Rick’s wife Marcy, and she took the remaining cigarettes and a lighter from him.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chelsea looked and Alexander and smiled.
 
She was 17 and thought he was the most handsome man she’d ever seen. She was very beautiful and appeared very delicate with her high cheek bones and long dark hair.
 
She looked much more like her father than her mother, except that she was super slim, and Rick was a large gentleman.
 
She had always done well in school, specializing in business and accounting courses.
 
She had no other ambition other than to be Anton’s familiar.
 
It was a lifelong commitment that she was readily able to accept.
 
But she was especially fond of Alexander who appeared to be right around her age.
 
Alexander smiled back at her after reading her thoughts.
 
She blushed and tried unsuccessfully to clear her mind for the rest of the trip.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Within a few moments they arrived at the destination.
 
They stopped about two blocks from the bar that Anton and Alexander were going to visit.
 
They got out of the van and Anton gave some instructions to Rick.
 
Chelsea smiled at Alexander and waved to him from the car window as she had done several hundred times since she was a toddler.
 
Alexander waved back to her.
 
A tinge of sadness overcame him as he thought of what it must mean to love someone you could never have.
 
The van pulled away as they started to walk towards the bar.
 
The streets around the bar were filled with cars trying to find a spot to park on the street or in the small parking lot beside it.
 
A large sign over the door and the frosted-over window read “JR’s Place.”
 
The front door had a sign on it that read “21 or over only.”
 
“We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.”
 
Anton looked at Alexander with a smile as they opened the door and went inside.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The bar was decorated in the typical way that anyone would expect the bar to be decorated in a small town:
 
lots of neon beer signs and posters of half-naked women.
 
There was a crowd that was made up of people of all ages, but mostly young, college aged.
 
The floor was concrete and appeared as if it had once been painted red, but most of the color had been scratched out of it.
 
There were several bar stools that were permanently fastened to the ground to keep patrons from stealing them.
 
The bar was stocked with the usual bottles of every kind of liquor known to man, and several beers were on tap.
 
A large mirror was behind the bar that was actually a two-way mirror to keep patrons from trying to get themselves free drinks.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
After leaving the bar area there were several tables and booths.
 
There were also about 4 pool tables, a hallway to the restroom, a small stage, a jukebox, a video game that never worked and an electronic dartboard.
 
Nearly every seat in the place was taken.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton and Alexander made their way in from the cold and walked up to the bar and sat down.
 
JR, as usual was tending.
 
He looked like a tired, old rock star:
 
he had long blonde hair and always wore t-shirts advertising 80’s hair bands.
 
What made most people remember him was his colorful bandanas and his large nose.
 
He was always humming songs from the bands that he loved no matter what was playing on the jukebox or what type of band was performing on the small stage in the corner.
 
He absolutely hated any music that came after the early 90’s and would bash Kurt Cobain and alternative music every chance he got.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton smiled at JR and nodded towards the security camera on the wall.
 
JR nodded back and pressing a button under the bar, in effect shutting off all the bar’s security cameras.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
‘’What will you have, gentlemen?” JR asked as he wiped off the bar with a wet rag.
 
He knew the answer already but always asked.
 
It was a sort of inside joke between the friends.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton stared at him for a few moments.
 
He couldn’t figure out JR.
 
He couldn’t read the man’s thoughts no matter how hard he tried.
 
There was a strange immortal sense about him, as if he weren’t quite human.
 
He wasn’t a vampire; that had been established as Anton had seen him eat and drink several times.
 
But nevertheless, there was something unworldly about him.
 
Maybe he was like Dr. Who or something.
 
Anton let the thought leave his mind for the moment.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anton grabbed the two bottles of beer that JR had placed on the bar.
 
Anton replaced them with two hundreds, keeping up with his side of the deal.
 
JR smiled, winked at him and took a drink of his soda.
 
Right next to where the beer had been was an ashtray.
 
It was as clean as a whistle and loaded with matchbooks.
 
He handed the beers to Alexander and picked up a matchbook.
 
On the cover was a neon motel sign that read “Old Rose Motel.”
 
JR noticed and quickly stashed the ashtray under the bar.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“Don’t want to encourage people since the bar is smoke-free now…bastards!” said JR.
 
He pulled an electronic cigarette from his pocket and took a deep drag.
 
A little green light illuminated from the end and then a small cloud of vapor came out of JR’s mouth when he exhaled.
 
“Not as good as the real thing, but what can you do?”
 
Anton shrugged his shoulders and he and Alexander walked away.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It didn’t take too long for them to meet someone.
 
Although the ladies that they met were very beautiful, their thoughts revealed that they were keeping a very dark secret.
 
The girl Anton had paired up with was named Debbie, and she had arranged for her husband to be killed in order to get his life insurance money.
 
Her friend, Angie had helped arrange the hit and they had split the money.
 
Both of them were sure they got away with their crimes.
 
But they didn’t realize that their thoughts had just betrayed them and this would be their last night in the land of the living. Both of them had dark hair, although Debbie appeared the sleazier of the two, having several tattoos that were visible and wearing a tight black shirt and a very short skirt.
 
Angie was dressed much more conservatively than her friend, although she was wearing a tank top to show off her bosoms, in hopes of snagging a new man.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Alexander got up and excused himself.
 
He was feeling a little dizzy and lightheaded from lack of blood.
 
All he needed to do was splash some cold water on his face and he would be alright until he fed.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The restroom was nicer than most barrooms had.
 
There were about three stalls and three urinals.
 
It was surprisingly clean, too.
 
JR was obviously very meticulous about how the bathrooms looked.
 
Alexander only felt the presence of two other people in the room and they were both in stalls.
 
He walked up to the sink and quickly splashed some cold water on his face.
 
It woke him up rather quickly, but his appetite was starting to get the better of him.
 
His body was almost begging for him to feed.
 
It was not uncommon for a vampire to go a few days even a week without feeding and be fine.
 
He was young, though not a fledgling, so he wasn’t able to go for as long as someone like Anton.
 
He somehow felt like a fledgling, sometimes, as he was technically an Acolyte and would be considered a Vampire in about 5 years.
 
From the time he was made, he sometimes had trouble controlling his hunger and his urge to kill. An extreme hatred would overcome him when he chose someone to kill.
 
It was not at all uncommon for him to mutilate the bodies of his prey.
 
Lady Bernadine had been able to help him control his murderous urgings in the past.