Revenant's Kiss (Chronicles of the Afterlife) (11 page)

"Don’t be," Jenny looked over at Marcia and the girl smiled as if to reassure her that she was
reliable. "Just remember one thing when we get there, everybody you see in that place is a killer, you
watch my back, I’ve got yours. If we keep it quick then they might just let us walk out alive."

"Gee that’s comforting," Marcia shoved her hands in her pockets as they reached the car and
waited for Jennifer to unlock the doors.

"I’m not here to comfort you Marcia, I’m here to make sure that when the time comes you can
keep yourself alive incase I can’t." Marcia didn’t respond to this comment and to her greatest relief as
they climbed into the car and she pulled out of the parking lot the medium kept any further excitement
to herself. Silence was good, for now to her it seemed golden even, because she needed time to think
out some kind of strategy that would allow the two of them to get in and out of the club alive. Getting in
would be the easy part, they let any pretty face into the building, getting back out was going to be the
tricky part. She could always handle herself, but she wasn’t in the best of shape right this moment.
Which meant it was impossible to guarantee her safety let alone another persons. Jenny took a second
to rotate her right shoulder, that one stretch sent spikes of pain through the whole arm. If she was in for
more trouble tonight, one thing was for sure, her right arm couldn’t take anymore. She didn’t plan on
arm wrestling with anybody, but you never knew how things would turn out in her line of work.

 Jennifer glanced at her coat resting on the center consol, that was one reason she could be
grateful that Marcia had decided to join her on this little outing. It was one of her favorite coats, made
of a soft black leather, it fit tight enough to look attractive, but was loose enough to conceal the Beretta,
which was the reason it was her favorite coat. It was cold enough to wear the coat, another small favor
that she could be grateful for because otherwise wearing it would have made her conspicuous.
Although being conspicuous was probably going to be the least of her problems, as if to provide her
with a distraction she didn’t need, her ribs protested at having a seat belt digging into them. Her
stomach was still in the first stages of bruising and it hurt; she still wasn’t entirely sure she hadn’t broken
anything. When she had time she’d be sure to go ask the professionals whether or not she had. She’d
have one more thing to be grateful for if it really was only bruising and not the alternative.

"Are you alright," Marcia finally asked after some silence, letting Jennifer know that she’d done
something to give away her current physical condition.

"I’ve been worse," Jennifer assured the woman wondering what it was she’d done to give her
injury away. There was also the possibility that Marcia knew by other means, she forgot most of the
time that Marcia was a medium, she got weird vibes about people. She might even be able to sense
every single thing Jennifer felt, or at least had a hint of how serious her injuries really were. ‘Damn that
was annoying.’

"We could wait for the others," Marcia said out of the darkness in the car beside her.

"This can’t wait," she assured her, she was out of patients concerning explanations in the
matter. Which meant she wasn’t willing to humor the new girl about the usual things that she might have
been willing to hold her hand about. No delusions of safety, or stability, not this time because this time
it really might be a waste of breath. She was going to make it clear this very second that if she went
down tonight in that club that Marcia was going to die too if she wasn’t ready to protect herself. "My
injuries have never kept me from doing my job Marcia, they’re not going to stop me now. But I want
something very clear between the two of us, if I die in that dance club, you’re going to die with me.
There’s nothing that I can do about that, you have to be prepared to face that, if you can’t then you
need to walk away when I pull this car over."

"What happens if I die before you do?" Marcia asked trying not to sound distressed at the idea
of dying in a way that was guaranteed to be unpleasant.

"You have my word that I’ll do everything that I can to keep that from happening."

"So you are going to protect me," Marcia didn’t hide her smile. It was apparently nice to know
that Jennifer wasn’t just looking out for herself. It wasn’t a secret that Marcia was less then proficient
at fighting in the first place, without Jennifer she would be a lost cause, somebodies dinner in all
likelihood.

"I swore to myself a long time ago that I wouldn’t lose another team mate to that place."
Jennifer watched Marcia relax a little bit, there went the idea about no delusions of safety. "But you
have to know that even with me giving it all I’ve got to keep us both alive, no matter how many
promises I make, it’s just words they guarantee nothing." Maybe Marcia was safe as long as Jennifer
could manage to find an upper hand, she just wasn’t sure how to get an advantage.

In any case Jennifer was out of time to try and come up with anything that would allow her
leverage because they had arrived. Pulling over she parked the car as close to the building as she
could, which considering it was a Friday wasn’t close, probably for the best given she needed to get
her Beretta out of the trunk. Without waiting for Marcia as soon as the car was in park she popped the
trunk and climbed out of the car. She felt more than saw Marcia come up beside her but for the
moment she focused on tucking the Beretta in the back of her jeans and putting the Bowie knife back in
place. When that task was done she slipped her coat on, again grateful for the concealment it
provided. After that she reached back in for the spare pistol that she usually kept on her, hesitated for
a moment before offering it to Marcia. "If I do get myself killed you should be armed," Marcia just
stared at the gun for a second. "You know how to use it?"

"Yes," Marcia responded quietly. Everybody on the team knew how to shoot, she had no
specific talent for it, the best reason for that being that she was no killer. She stared at the little hand
gun like it had bitten her or started talking, or simply like she wasn’t sure what she should do with it.

"Put it in your purse," Jennifer instructed as she slammed the trunk closed and moved to walk
around the car. When Marcia made to come after her she followed her instructions, and tucked the
gun into the purse she was carrying that matched her dress suite . "If it comes to you having to use the
pistol you aim for the head or the heart, those are the only shots that might slow them down." Jennifer
watched Marcia nod and tuck the pistol away, she wouldn’t have spotted the small weapon so no one
else was likely to either. "When we get there," she continued, "don’t look anybody directly in the eyes,
don’t make it obvious though. Pretend your on a night out with the girls, don’t show them fear, don’t
even think about being afraid. They can smell fear from a mile away, and that is a death sentence.
Don’t let them know you know what they are, you keep calm, you keep breathing." That was the best
advice that Jennifer could offer with such short notice.

"Jennifer," Marcia asked confused.

"Don’t worry, they’re not mind readers, body language, facial expressions, smell, that’s how
they weed you out. It’s not as hard as it sounds, trust me." Jennifer looked back at the negotiator and
could already tell she didn’t know what she was talking about. "Look," Jennifer called her attention
back to the issue at hand and tried to put it into different terms. "Just smile, be flirty, strut, use sex
appeal, but don’t let them know you’re afraid. Act like you’re out on the town, but it’s also important
that you don’t look them in the eyes."

"Isn’t that going to seem suspicious," Marcia asked nervously as if unsure how to go about
acting flirty without looking people in the eye.

"Look over heads, at peoples chests, whatever makes you more comfortable. Looking over
their heads gives the illusion of eye contact though, I suggest you keep that in mind."

"What if they’re taller than me?" It was a stupid question really but in the end a relevant enough
one given the circumstances.

"Avoid them, look at the ceiling, your choice really," Jenny watched Marcia nod, she had
doubts, that was better than fear at least. "We’re almost there, are you ready for this?" At the question
Marcia imperceptibly positioned herself closer to Jennifer’s side, she understood the sentiment.
God
she was dreading going back to that club, it carried nothing but bad memories for her. Then again for
her most places did if they were work related, and she would never be caught dead in that place if not
for work. She would never admit it out loud but she may even have been a little terrified at the idea of
walking back in there. What if things did turn ugly and Marcia was killed, it would be her fault. Just
like the last time she’d gone in and people had died ugly, it was always her fault. The fact that she
always survived was retched proof that she was a failure and that their blood was on her hands, no one
else’s. God forgive her because she was willing to go in again, even if it meant Marcia’s blood was put
on her conscience as well. She had to hope that God could forgive her because she couldn’t forgive
herself for what she had to do to preserve the lives of people she didn’t even know.

Chapter 8

Jennifer paid close attention to Marcia’s expression as they came close to turning around the
corner. She had seen what would be waiting for them, it felt like she’d laid eyes on it a thousand times
before even though she knew it couldn’t have been more than a dozen times, but Marcia had never
seen the luminous red letters that read Crimson Desire before.
She watched the woman beside her and
couldn’t help but feel like there was a tremendous age difference between them even though they were
essentially the same, she couldn’t help but feel old in comparison as she watched the woman’s jaw
drop. She wasn’t surprised, she couldn’t be knowing that she had reacted the same way when she’d
first seen this place. It was a combination of a sign that should have been absolutely trashy but
managed to be both eerie and alluring instead and seeing all the people piled outside of the place
waiting to get inside, didn’t hurt first impressions either.

This place didn’t look as dangerous as it really was, she knew that normal people came here all
the time, most of them came in and left again none the wiser. But a majority of the regulars here were
killers, she should know, she’d been forced to sit by helpless while they tortured and killed innocent
people. But still people came like cattle to the slaughter, maybe because that damned sign drew
attention, under the bright velvet words Crimson Desire stood a glowing outline of a woman being held
against a man. It looked like a couple in a very intimate embrace, the mans face buried in the crook of
the woman’s neck, her arms circling his neck, holding him to her. To normal people it would look like
an innocent representation of lovers, but she knew better. It represented death, it represented a killers
crimson desire, and in the end she knew that was what brought people back here again and again
despite the fact that sometimes they disappeared. It was those beautiful monsters that drew the people
back to die, damned vampires.

 
"Don’t be fooled by a books cover," she warned Marcia. She’d seen that expression before,
awed, she wasn’t delusional enough to deny having never been the same, she just wished like hell that
for once someone would take her word on what this place was and display a little terror instead of
having to learn it the hard way. But in the end they all learned quickly that there was nothing awesome
about this club, it was nothing short of terrifying once you knew what it really was.

"It just looks so normal," Marcia confided as they made their way toward the line that spanned
almost all the way around the building.

"That was what everybody else said, you find out what it is fast or you die. I hope you’re a fast
learner," Jenny turned the collar of her coat up and devoted her attention to the haunting sign above
them. Very much aware that it seemed to turn the whole sky blood red around the building, suiting,
especially unnerving when you knew what you were walking into.

"Jennifer," Marcia seemed to take pause and actually stopped walking, the woman had to call
her name a second time before she noticed.

"What," she asked never taking her eyes off of the sign except to briefly glance at the woman
behind her. The sign was a reminder that this was dangerous, that she had to be careful, very careful,
wouldn’t want to step on any old enemies toes.

"Will they be at the doors, how will we get in, what if they know who we are, what if they
try....."

"Marcia," Jennifer forced herself to look at the woman beside her, this was not the reaction she
wanted, a little fear yes, but not so much that she couldn’t function through it. She had gotten used to
dealing with people like Manson and herself, people who simply managed to turn fear into something
useful or lock it away where it wouldn’t get in the way. "Listen to me, I would be lying if I said that I
didn’t need some back up in there," she briefly indicated the building behind her, "but if you can’t hold
it together it isn’t too late for you to go home."