OV: The Original Vampire (Book #1) (8 page)

The bed was messy. Vinnie noticed that the b
ed sheet was made of plastic. There were empty jars of lubricant by the bookstand. Vinnie opened the bookstand drawer and didn’t see a bible, but a Temple of Set book. There was an old dagger resting on top of it. There was a Bondage & Domination magazine underneath that. Josie opened the closet door and from the ceiling hung a giant hook. There was a faded brown spot on the carpet.

“Oh, my God.
My dad was a pervert, and possibly a killer.” Josie said.

They went back to the living room, brushed the dust off the seats and sat down

“How can I even sleep here? It’s gross.” She said.

There was a rock mantel place
in the middle of the room. It was probably the focal point for entertainment and storytelling during the long winter months. Vinnie became curious with the photos and knickknacks on the shelf and got up to look.

There was a photo of Bud & Josie’s mother. Josie had blondish pigtails, her natural brown was lightened by the summer sunlight, and she was squinting in the sunlight. Bud looked serious, too serious, as if he wanted to kill the cameraman. Josie’s mom was withdrawn, her eyes focused on the horizon over the cameraman’s head.

The next photo was the family photo of Josie’s family. Bud was holding Josie’s hand. Josie’s mom looked at him carefully. The next photo was of Bud and Van Norden, Vinnie’s grandfather. They were in front of an audience shaking hands. They had pope-like headpieces on. A second photo showed them on a boat, holding up trout they had just caught.

“What the. . . “, Vinnie said.

“What?”

“You won’t believe this.” He said.

Josie got up to look. She stared speechless. The third photo showed Van Norden and Bud drinking from a silver vessel in front of a priest. There was an unrecognizable animal which hung dead behind them.

“This is unbelievable. My grandfather, who was never seen in the photographs we had of him, is in every one here, and he knows your dad.” Vinnie said.

“How in the world did that happen?” Josie asked.

“I have no idea.” Vinnie said, while analyzing all the pictures.

It was now in the middle of the night. Josie had lit candles which made the cabin more accommodating. She went outside and grabbed some pine needles and placed them in a bowl, came back in and lit them. The smoke of the pine cleared away the musky smell, and hopefully cleared the air of any evil spirits.

“This place makes me feel dirty. I’ve been in the woods for weeks, but I never felt dirty like this.” She said.

“I think I can access the Gateway easily here, it feels close.” Vinnie said, as he placed his hand over the candle flame.

“Knock it off, would you?” She said.

“Let’s clear a place and rock on the floor. I want you to come with me.” He said.

“Oh, baby.” She said.

“Not that way.” He smiled.

“Okay.” She smiled back.

They cleared a spot between the kitchen and the living room. Vinnie swept as Josie lied the nicest blanket down. They blew out the candles and sat Indian style. After they closed their eyes they concentrated on their breathing. They swayed slowly back and forth, like oil well pump jacks. When thoughts barged in, they went back to the safety of their breathing.

Spirals of light entered their eyelids, as all surroundings from the outside world ceased. It took a while for Vinnie to connect with Josie in the ethereal world. There was a lot on his mind that had to be cleared.

Vinnie finally connected with her by seeing her floating in a pond. She had a large Lily flower behind her ear. Their laughter was uninhibited, like waking from a funny dream and laughing
hysterically. But, the situation was serious and Vinnie needed to find Van Norden in a parallel universe, thousands of memories ago.

The colorful spirals behind Vinnie’s eyelids turned to sienna, as he went deeper into his psyche. There were many impressions, voices echoing, ghosts bumping into him, as he searched for the right memory line.

Vinnie walked down a foggy cobblestone path. There were faded memory images everywhere. He then walked into a giant room. The ceiling was so high that it looked like a sky made of marble.

An unrealistically large, bold man sat at a desk in the middle of the room. He was reading a paper and smoking a pipe.

“Van Norden?” Vinnie asked.

“Yes, Vinnie.”
Van Norden replied.

There was no room or exception made for small talk. Small talk was abolished at the time of death, and is burned quickly, like empty calories.

“Why weren’t you in the photos at the families’ house?” Vinnie asked.

“One has a choice to leave impressions, or not.”

“So, you became invisible on purpose?” Vinnie asked.

“In my field of work, one must erase ties.”

“Field of work? You’re dead.” Vinnie said.

Josie knocked over a lamp in the corner and ran out the door.

“Who’s that?” Van Norden asked.

“My field of work.”
Vinnie replied.

“Sit down Vinnie.” Van Norden folded his paper. “First of all, I realize you have some power, because you’re sitting here with me. Second of all, I’m dead and you’re sitting here with me.”

“I need your help,” Vinnie started. “
about the pictures of you and Bud. We’re at Bud’s cabin right now, staying there, and we saw photos.” He said.

“Who is that girl?” Van
Norden asked.

“That’s Bud’s daughter. She wants to find out why Bud is in some kind of trailer-trash purgatory.”

“That’s a hard one.” Van Norden said. “Bud was a good friend at one time. But, things got out of hand.”

“What happened?” asked Vinnie.

“Vanterkroft.” Van Norden said.

“
Vanterkroft?”

“
Vanterkroft is a secret society for immortals. We mock the passing years of mortals and watch them slowly struggle with death. It’s sick, but so is our world.”

“So, what happened to you and Bud?” Vinnie asked.

“We were supposed to initiate a new immortal to our circle, Vanterkroft, and make him feel purely invincible in his new dead skin.” Van Norden became serious. “We took a new member fishing on Lake Cresent, Bud and I. Bud drank heavily most of the time, to create a buffer between his life and death.” Van Norden paused and emptied his pipe into his hand. “See, Bud wasn’t dead, yet.”

“What? How can you be a member of
Vanterkroft when you’re not dead?” Vinnie asked.

“Bud’s soul was mostly dead, due to what he did to his wife and Josie.
Vanterkroft initiated him at the moment he defiled his daughter, when he took her innocence purely out of selfish reasons.”

“My god.”
Vinnie sighed. The weight of Van Norden’s words pulled Vinnie downward.

The door knob of the cabin shook, as Vinnie and Josie passed through the stages of unconsciousness to consciousness in a matter of seconds. Vinnie jumped up and peeked out the window. There was a tall dark shadow walking away.

“Just a
tweaker.” Vinnie said.

“What’s the difference
between Draksblood and Meth?” Josie asked.

“Complexities.”
Vinnie said. “besides, we’re over that.”

Vinnie and Josie started to rock back and forth again. The spirals spun faster, as their concentration had become better with practice. The black tunnel of meditation brought them back to a wide expanse.

“I’m going in. I think you should wait over there by that purple rainbow. Did you make that?” Vinnie asked.

“Yes.”

Vinnie went back in the giant room to speak with Van Norden.

“You’re back.” Van
Norden said.

“Yes. About Bud, what happened, you were saying?”

Van Norden began, “We took the new member fishing on Lake Cresent. Bud and I spoke seriously about Vanterkroft, but when Bud had too much to drink he slipped into a lecherous man, immature and perverted.”

“Perverted?” Vinnie asked.

“Bud started to become aggressive with the new member by telling him he was a ‘Virgin Sodomite.’ Bud taunted him for several minutes and wouldn’t let up. He grabbed a fish club from off the deck and wanted to break an ‘anal taboo’ with the new member. Finally, the new member had enough and took the club and beat Bud to death.”

Vinnie was shocked that Bud had been murdered, especially by a fish club.

“So, why did I see Bud at some trailer park purgatory?” Vinnie asked.

“Because Bud was dejected from
Vanterkroft, and there was no other place to put him but in a type of hell he could relate to. Hell doesn’t work if you cannot relate to it.” Van Norden said.

“Is there any way to save him?” Vinnie asked.

“Not really. His intentions must become genuinely positive, laced with love, and a benevolent devotion must be exercised devoid of selfishness.” Van Norden said.

The sun was rising into the cabin windows and awoke Vinnie. He turned on his side and looked at Josie, who was still dreaming. The lines on her face were softer, some were gone, healed over by tranquil nature and minerals from the dirt and water. He ran his fingers softly through her hair, as she slowly awoke, deeply inhaled and exhaled, and smiled as she opened her eyes towards him. What they had just went through was not sleeping or dreaming, but the Gateway to the fifth dimension, to shape-shifting, and a reset parameter for solid internal change.

Now, they needed real sleep, as the sun started to burn Josie’s angelic skin through the windows. They went down into the basement to find complete darkness. What they found were three skeletons hanging from the rafters.

“Oh my god, Vinnie!” Josie grabbed Vinnie’s arm and tried pulling him back up the stairs. Vinnie stood on the step mesmerized by the skeletons. They were more than dead, because they offered no blood to him.

He quietly walked back upstairs with her. He led her to the kitchen as if possessed and grabbed a knife. She screamed. Vinnie yelled back, “I just need a little bit.” As he grabbed her arm and cut her. She slapped him soundly across the face. The impact was solid and made his eyes roll back in his head. She then punched him in the nose, as blood dripped into his mouth.

“There’s your blood, asshole.” Josie said, as she walked over to the living room and looked out the window. “We need to get the fuck out of here.” She said.

They covered their heads with blankets and walked down the steps to the grassy field. The flowers were still pretty, but Vinnie’s face was not. Dried blood covered his cheeks and mouth, like he was an actor in a bloody horror movie.

“We need to find a cave or something.” She said.

They walked back the way they came towards the small cliffs that jutted up from the roadside. There were ivy vines that fell off the cliff’s edge towards the road, like a big green waterfall. They climbed into an opening in the ivy and found a place to lie down on the smooth clay.

“What the hell was that?” She asked.

“Where?”

“Uh, the hanging corpses?”

“I have no idea.” He said.

“Do you think my father killed them?”

“I have no idea.”

Josie lied restless, as she thought about everything that had happened. She had no idea what Vinnie and Van Norden talked about either.

“We have to go back.” She said.

“The skeletons are old. Who knows what happened.” Vinnie said.

“Well, I still need to know.”

They slept as the sun shone in the middle of the sky. Giant ravens played in the sky and bounced on tree limbs. There was not another human for miles. Hours later, Vinnie awoke to the sweet snugness of Josie riding him. Once he realized what she was doing, he grabbed her hips and helped her thrust down on it. They hadn’t made love in weeks and it was hard not to go all the way in a matter of seconds. She came in succession, as she fell off of him and trembled beside him with aftershock.

“Wow!” She said. “That was a long time coming.” She meant that in more than one way.

“That was incredible. I love you so much Josie.” Vinnie said, as he hugged her.

“We
gotta head back. It’s killing me. I could barely sleep.” She said, as they gathered their stuff. Vinnie looked outside to see where the sun was. It was safe to walk outside.

The clouds were
Orangish-red when they left the cave and headed back. The cabin had ominous shadows from the sunset as they approached. When they opened the door, musky air from the hot day escaped. The ceiling creaked from the beams changing temperature from the sun going behind the mountains.

Vinnie lit a candle from the propane stove and walked to the basement door. It’s an ugly dark green. They push it open, as a cold dank air pushed past them. It’s dark. There’s no electricity. There’s a residue on the stairs that make their feet stick. The light of the candle shows the cracks in the concrete, as there are a couple of large black
widows deep within the cracks, waiting to take life away.