《Sangreville》


 Chapter 1

    <u>Chapter 1</u>


    During the first week in January, I learned that my mother and I would be moving to a "Vampire Town". That was something I''d never expected, and definitely not at all prepared for.


    I learned about it a few hours after classes were dismissed. I was at home in my community of Greenhurst, New York, which is on Long Island; seated at the desk in my room, using my lap top computer.


    I''d decided to check out what was on my High School¡¯s students¡¯ website. I logged on to a page titled "No Longer a Virgin." and scanned down the page, seeing the names and photos of a very large majority of my classmates.


    I saw that my boyfriend Larry hadadded his name.


    He''d wrote, "Elaine Harris has a great you-know-what and it¡¯s all mine."


    "Oh?" I forced a smile.


    I''d supposed that was a compliment, even if was the dirty kind, and I was glad to know he felt that way; but I''d have still felt uncomfortable if I wrote anything like that about his you-know-what.


    "Elaine!" My mother''s voice came through the door. "It''s time to eat!"


    "Be right there Mom!"


    I returned my attention to the web page, and added "Elaine Harris" to the list.


    Then I wrote the words, "Responsibly practicing safe sex¡±.


    I did not include any descriptions; but I did add a photo of my fully clothed self with a satisfied smile on my lips.


    That''s all that''s necessary. I thought, and uploaded my entry onto the students'' web page.


    At the dining room table, my mother and I sat down to a dinner of macaroni with meatballs, sausages and tomato sauce, along with onions and garlic.


    Two weeks earlier, my father David Harris had been killed in a traffic accident. I don''t want to say any more about that. Repeating any of the details is just too difficult for me.


    My mother Beth Harris worked as an office secretary at Greenhurst High School, but without my father''s income, things were going to be very difficult for the two of us alone. My mother was looking around for a better paying job. I thought I should be getting one myself for after school, but she didn''t want me doing anything that might interfere with my studies.


    This evening, when the meal was finished, she made an announcement.


    "Elaine. Today I received a phone call from your Aunt Josephine. She''s a member of the Sangreville California School Board. She told me that in about a month, there will be a job opening at the local High School. She says it comes with a much better salary. She''s arranged to have the position kept open for me, if I want it."


    I asked, "There''s a job for you in Sangreville, California? ¡®Vampire Town¡¯?"


    "I asked your Aunt Josephine about all those stories you hear. She says they are greatly exaggerated. I told her that I''ll accept the position."


    "You''ll accept the position?" I thought of Larry. "We''re gonna be moving? To Vampire Town?"


    "That''s right." She told me, "People in the Town Government are trying to work out an agreement, between the live people and the vampires, which they hope will assure that everyone there, both the living and undead, will be reasonably safe. That will include you and I."


    That night I prayed to the Lord.


    "What''s going on?" I asked, "You''ve got my Mom and me going to Sangreville, California of all places? ''Vampire Town''? It''s supposed to be another Sodom and Gomorrah. Are you punishing me for doing it with Larry? But we¡¯re being responsible, and practicing safe sex. Every other girl in my school does it with her boyfriend, but you''re not sending any of them off to Hell Town!"


    While we remained in Greenhurst, I didn''t pray to Him again.


    About a month later, the time was about 2:30 PM on a Saturday afternoon. The cross-country bus from Los Angeles had been on the road for two and a half hours. We passengers had spent the last 30 minutes riding past patches of wild cactus, along a two-lane asphalt road, through the arid Southern California countryside. Now our trip was almost over. We were approaching Sangreville.


    Everything''s just too strange, I thought, as I sat beside a window on the right side of the vehicle. My mother Beth was seated beside me.


    There were heat-wave mirage puddles on the road ahead. You never see that in early February on the roads back on Long Island. I was wearing shorts and a halter-top. The air-conditioning had broken down, so I was hot and sweating, in early February. I hoped I wasn''t stinking.


    We continued along the road, which made a long, round, downward right turn, giving us passengers a panoramic view of the valley, with the community to where my mother and I were headed, more than a thousand feet below us to the left.


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    We drove past a large sign with an arrow, beside a gravel road going upward on our right. The sign stated ¡°Demons¡¯ Gateway¡±.


    I looked up the gravel road to the side of a cliff, about a hundred feet above us. There I saw a gigantic cave entrance in the side of a white, limestone cliff. The walls of the cave entrance were shaped like an upside down, outward curving triangle, rising from a very narrow base, to a wide, upward curved ceiling.


    Back beside the road, next to the first sign, another sign displayed the photo of an idol, in the form of a woman with a pair of outspread bat-like wings, standing with her arms folded in front of her.


    Above her were the words, ¡°Vampirania: To be Worshiped with Fear and Trembling¡±.


    I actually felt myself tremble, and my stomach felt queasy for a moment. I quickly looked away from the sign.


    My mother said, "Get away from us Satan, and stay away from all of us! The Lord rebuke you! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."


    My trembling and queasiness stopped.


    The bus continued its descent, and quickly reached the outskirts of the town, driving past a "Welcome to Sangreville" sign. The local Burger King franchise stood on the opposite side of the road.


    That sign, I thought, should say "Welcome to Vampire Town". That is this town''s claim to fame.


    The bus continued on its way, and we were soon moving along Sangreville''s Main Street, passing the local Movie Theater, and a nightclub called ¡°The Bouncing Casket¡±, among many small shops. A short distance further, along the next block, we passed a large shop with a sign above the door identifying the establishment as the ¡°¡®Dark Arts R Us¡± shop.


    This town, I thought, looks just the same as the other small Southern California towns we''d just driven through. Without the tropical foliage it would look like any small town, anywhere. The people moving along the sidewalks outside the shops look and dress no different than people you''d see in any other town, or city.


    I wondered, how do the "Not entirely human" residents I''ve heard of; the ones who ¡°¡­go bump in night" look, and if they really are as bad as all the stories you hear? What''s even more important is how do we deal with them?


    I don''t want to have to deal with them! I raged silently. I don''t want to have to deal with any of this! But what I do or don''t want doesn''t matter. I''d prayed about it. I''d asked God to keep us in Greenhurst, so I could stay with my boyfriend Larry, but now we were here and I¡¯ll probably never see him again.


    God''s ignoring me, I thought. I haven''t one good reason to expect Him to do other-wise.


    When the bus finally arrived at the Sangreville Bus Station that Saturday afternoon, both my Aunt Josephine and my Cousin Diana Sheridan were waiting to greet us. As we loaded our bags into their car''s trunk, I noticed that my Cousin Diana, who was my age, had a pair of anti-biotic bandages on her neck.


    They drove us away from the Bus Station, going through downtown Sangreville, to their home in a residential neighborhood, on a street named Kennedy Drive. It was a two-story house with a neatly trimmed lawn and front porch.


    As soon as we arrived, we took our bags up to the rooms where we''d be staying as guests, until we found a place of our own to live.


    After my mother and I unpacked, we went back downstairs and sat outside on the porch swing with my Cousin Diana and Aunt Josephine. As we were talking and pleasantly reminiscing, my mother spoke to my cousin.


    "Tell me Diana. What happened to your neck?"


    She shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s just a hickey. I got it from a boy I was making out with last night.¡±


    Aunt Josephine spoke with a smirking tone. "My daughter Diana here¡¯s been making out and getting hickeys regularly for the past few months." She chuckled, "And she actually expects people to believe that she''s still a virgin."


    Diana scowled with annoyance. "No I don''t Mom! I am a normal, healthy 16-year-old girl who fks; like most 16 year old girls who aren¡¯t losers! And I¡¯d rather be known as a skanky slut, than as a loser. I¡¯m sure Cousin Elaine here was fking with boys regularly back on Long Island. You were, weren¡¯t you Elaine?"


    I nodded and said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t a loser or a skanky slut. I only did it with my boyfriend, and we always practiced safe sex. What every girl should be doing, while engaging in...¡±


    Diana went on, "That¡¯s what I do. That¡¯s what every girl at school does; and that¡¯s something that the School Board and the parents of all us skanky sluts approve."


    My Aunt Josephine then told me, "Be careful with the boys you''ll be doing it with here Elaine. It''s obvious that they can be kind of rough."


    Now my mother said, with an equally smirking tone, "Well, like my daughter Elaine just admitted, she was doing it with her boyfriend, regularly and safely for the past two months, right up until the night before we left; but he was always considerate enough to never give her a hickey."


    I said, "Considerate?"


    "Well I liked knowing that my daughter was doing it with a gentleman. I hope the boys who you''ll be doing it with here, will be just as considerate."


    "Mom." I told her, "He wrote on a student''s website ''Elaine Harris has a great you-know-what, and it''s all mine''. Just how considerate is that?"


    Aunt Josephine said, "I¡¯ve read similar comments about both my daughters, on more than one local students¡¯ website. In this town, those kind of comments are regarded as compliments."


    Diana shrugged, "The boys you''ll be dating here are no different than they were back where you were living Elaine, whether your dates are alive or undead."


    "Undead?" I asked, "You date vampires?"


    She nodded, "That''s how I got this hicky. Me and Paula''ll talk to you about it later Elaine."

 Chapter 2

    <u>Chapter 2</u>


    The Monday after we''d arrived in Sangreville, I stood waiting beside the teacher''s desk in Classroom 317. This was my first morning as a new student in Sangreville Senior High School. I''d spent the entire first period in the Office, getting properly enrolled.


    I''d been given my class schedule and locker number. Then I''d come straight here, carrying a brand new notebook. I''d moved along with the crowds of students as they changed classes between periods. I noticed that most of the girls wore very short tight skirts, hanging less than half way down their thighs, or very short shorts, revealing the full lengths of their legs. Many of them wore tight, skimpy halter-tops. Others wore very tight and very thin mesh tee shirts with nothing else over their boobs; so their nipples could be clearly seen.


    I also noticed that an unusually large number of girls had bandages on their necks; so did an unusually large number of guys. None of the guys wore revealing garments.


    I was dressed in a short sleeved blouse, a skirt that hung to the tops of my knees, and flat-soled shoes. That''s how we dressed back in Greenfields. Totally out of style, at least here in my new High School. I was definitely going to have to get myself an entire new wardrobe, and go on a little bit of a diet.


    As I went past the lockers in the corridors, I noticed that some of the boys were looking me over.


    I thought, Good-bye Larry. Hello whoever my Sangreville boyfriend will be.


    Here in classroom 317, like in any classroom anywhere, there were blackboards with chalk writing, and bulletin boards where many posters and other paper or cardboard items were tacked. Through the windows I saw the top floors and rooftops of neighboring buildings. In the distance I saw the burned out ruins of what had been the High School.


    The school I was now in was located in an old office building that had been renovated to be the community''s temporary Secondary School, until the construction of a new High School was completed.


    The 11th Grade History teacher had not yet arrived. The desks were about half full of students; most of who had bandaged necks. More were coming through the doorway. Most of them looked at me with curiosity.


    Somebody said, "New girl."


    My cousin Diana was very a shapely girl with long brown hair. She sat at one of the desks dressed in a short, tight yellow skirt and matching halter, and had a fresh pair of bandages on her neck. She waved at me smiling.


    I heard her say, "That''s my cousin Elaine. They''ve just moved here to Sangreville."


    She got up from her desk and began to come over to me, when the teacher entered the room. Diana backed away from me and sat down at her desk again, as did the other students who continued talking.


    The teacher was a woman in her early thirties, with a good figure, but wore no revealing garments, and had no hickey or bandage on her neck. She wore a simple dress and sensible shoes. The woman also wore glasses. She came over to the desk carrying a briefcase, while looking at me without smiling.


    She asked, "Are you a new student?"


    "Yes." I handed her a form I''d been given at the office.


    The woman sighed. She seated herself behind the desk and looked over the form.


    "Your name is Elaine Harris?"


    "Yes. Mrs...?"


    "You may call me Ms. Collins."


    The bell rang. All the students were now in their seats, continuing to talk.


    Ms. Collins called out, "Class!"


    Everyone quieted down.


    The teacher went on. "I want to introduce to you a new member of our Class. She is Elaine Harris."


    The woman spoke to me. "Please tell us where you are from Elaine."


    I told them all, "Greenfields, Long Island, New York."


    Ms. Collins told them, "I want you to all welcome Elaine from Greenfields, Long Island, New York, to Sangreville, California High."


    The class called out in unison, "Welcome Elaine, from Greenfields, Long Island, New York, to Sangreville, California!


    Hi!"


    Then they all laughed. I grinned nervously.


    The teacher told me, "I''m sure your classmates will do their best, to make you feel welcomed. You may take a seat Elaine."


    Diana pointed to an empty desk directly to her right. I went over and sat there.


    I heard a guy at a nearby desk say softly, "I''d like to make her feel welcomed with my (deleted)."


    I acted like I hadn''t heard him, and didn''t glance in his direction.


    Diana said, "Elaine. This is Roxanna."


    She indicated the girl seated at the desk to her left. Roxanna had long, light brown hair. She wore a tight blue halter, with a very short skirt, along with a bandaged over hickey on her neck.


    I wondered, Are bandaged necks part of this School''s dress code?


    Then I noticed that Roxanna wore a necklace, holding the silver idol of a vampire bat with its wings extended, dangling between her boobs.


    Up at the front desk Ms. Collins checked the attendance.


    She called out, "Does anybody know if Annabelle is absent, or is she just late?"


    "Absent from life!" Roxanna called out smugly from her desk. "Right now her corpse is morphing into a vampire, and she''s getting her fangs on! She was making out with a vamp at a fang-bang on Saturday night, and they had an accident!"


    All the kids in the class chuckled.


    Roxanna continued, "So she won''t be attending classes any more, at least in the daytime."


    "Oh that''s too bad." said the teacher. "Well I hope the rest of you will be careful, when it comes to making out, especially with vampires."


    The kids chuckled again.


    Now Diana leaned over and spoke to Roxanna with a grin. "How far''d you go with that vamp guy you were making out with?"


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    The girl leaned toward her, also grinning, and replied. "He nibbled me and I fkd him."


    "Same with me and my vamp guy. Just like everyone else at the fang-bang. I''m surprised that Annabelle was the only one of us who had a fatal accident."


    "All right everyone!" Ms. Collins called out, "Open your textbooks to page..."


    During lunch period, I stepped out of the kitchen into the Cafeteria, carrying a tray filled with that day''s lunch. I was nervously looking around for an empty seat.


    "Hey Elaine!" Diana called out, "Over here!"


    I went over and sat across the table from Diana, and Roxanna who still wore the vampire bat idol on her necklace. I began to eat, while continuing to feel very uneasy.


    "Hello again, Elaine." Roxanna asked, "So how do you like Sangreville High so far?"


    "Well." I spoke cautiously. "The classes and the curriculum aren''t all that different than they were at my old school. I''m just not sure about anything else."


    Diana asked, "Like what?"


    "Well...Sangreville is supposed to be some kind of Sodom and Gomorrah."


    "Actually," Roxanna told me, "It''s mostly Gomorrah here. Very little Sodom."


    I told them, "There really are vampires in Sangreville, like all those stories you hear, and the town actually is right on top of a hell mouth."


    "That''s true." Roxanna nodded with a smile. "Sangreville has also been legally designated as a ''Sanctuary Community'' for vampires and demon worshipers." She fingered the chain around her neck, where the bat-like figure dangled. "You can get away with anything you want, when you''re living on a hell mouth."


    "That''s the problem." I said, "Just how long should I expect to be actually ''living'', in Sangreville? That is instead of ''un-living''."


    Diana told me, "That really isn''t as much of a problem as you think Elaine, as long as you take some simple precautions. All you''ve got to do is wear a cross or a sprig of garlic on a chain around your neck, and hang a sprig of garlic or a cross in your window; and never invite a vampire inside your house."


    Roxanna added, "Or inside of you."


    She and Diana both giggled.


    I smiled. "Well I''d never do that with any guy I''d just met. I only did it with my boyfriend back in Greenfields, and we''d been dating for a good amount of time, before I let him come inside."


    Diana told me, "Nothing wrong with that."


    "Another thing." Roxanna went on. "When you go out in the evening, don''t go anywhere alone."


    "I see." I said, "Well that all sounds like good advice, but is it really enough? I remember the news stories about the disaster that happened when a mob of vampires attacked the Homecoming Dance that was being held in the original Sangreville High Building. More than a dozen students were killed and the entire school was destroyed. That''s why they''re holding classes here, in this old office building. You can see the ruins of the old High School from the classroom windows. So I can''t help but wonder. Just how safe is it really, here in Sangreville?"


    Diana said, "It''s actually a lot safer than it was before the attack on the school."


    "You see." Roxanna explained. "The destruction was so terrible, it just made everyone in town stop and take a look at what we were all doing. A lot of people, both living and undead asked, ''Can''t we just get along?'' And that''s just what we''ve been doing."


    "''Getting along'' with vampires?" I asked, "How is that possible?"


    "Compromise. We give a little; they take a little."


    "A little what?"


    "Blood." Diana explained, "There is an agreement. According to its terms, we let vampires nibble our necks and sip out a few mouthfuls. About as much as you''d put in a coffee mug. They drink just enough to satisfy their thirsts, but not enough to kill us. That''s how we got these hickeys."


    "Oh. Is that what was going on, on Saturday night, at that ''fang-bang'' I''ve been hearing about? Everyone was making out with vampires?"


    "That''s right. ''Enough to thrill us, but not to kill us''."


    "But I heard about the girl who did get killed."


    Roxanna told me, "That was an accident, and Annabelle was known for being careless; but you don''t have to worry. When you get nibbled, just make sure that as soon as you start to feel light headed, tell your vamp to stop sucking."


    "When I ''get nibbled''?" I asked, "You expect me to take part?"


    "Well, you are now a resident of Sangreville, and everyone giving his or her neck, along with about a coffee mug''s full of blood, is part of the agreement."


    "What if he doesn''t stop sucking?"


    Roxanna said, "That means he''s being thoroughly inconsiderate."


    "But how would I know if a vampire is or isn''t considerate, ahead of time?"


    Diana said, "It''s okay Elaine. We''ll introduce you to some really cool vamp guys. There''s one guy who''s just right for a newbie like you. All the girls here call him ''Mr. Goodbite''."


    "Oh." All I could think of to say was "Thank you."


    I continued eating my lunch, not knowing what else to say, or what to think about the school where I was now enrolled as a student, about the vampires, especially "Mr. Goodbite"?


    Then I finally thought of something.


    "I''ve been seeing the way all the girls are dressed around here. It''s very different than what we wore back in Long Island, in the wintertime. I''m obviously going to have to get myself an entire new wardrobe; and it''s gonna be very expensive."


    "No problem Elaine." Diana said, "Roxanna and I''ll take you over to Main Street after school lets out. There are some shops with a lot of good stuff, that isn''t too expensive."


    "Thank you." I said, "I really appreciate that."


    "Oh and while you''re on Main Street," Roxanna said, "I think it might be a good idea for you to pick up a copy of the ''Vampire''s Handbook''."


    "There''s a Vampire''s Handbook?"


    "Yes. ''Everything a New Vampire Should Know'', along with what a vampire''s newbie date should know too. You can find them in a Main Street magic shop, that''s called ''Dark Arts <u>R</u> Us''."


    "Oh yes." I told my cousin and my new buddy, "I''ve seen the place. Haven''t gone inside. Thank you again. I hope."

 Chapter 3

    <u>Chapter 3</u>


    At 4 o''clock in the afternoon, I was in downtown Sangreville, along with my new classmates Diana and Roxanna, standing outside the small shop, with its name "Dark Arts <u>R</u> Us" on a sign above the doorway. We were still carrying our books.


    We''d just been to a local clothing store, where I''d bought myself a few halter-tops, which was all I had the money to pay for that day. I''d replaced my unexpectedly nerdy blouse, with what was ¡°Sangreville High chic". I''d put the blouse in the shopping bag, along with the other halter-tops.


    Then I''d looked in a store''s mirror, seeing myself in that very tight, brand new, revealing halter, and my old knee length skirt and I smiled at what I saw.


    "I actually look sexy," I told Roxanna and Diana, "without even trying."


    We''d come out of the shop and walked along Main Street. A lot of kids from the School were also moving around downtown. Some of the girls had actually removed their halter tops and walked along casually bare breasted, with their nipples fully displayed. Nobody in the crowd seemed to mind.


    As Roxanna, Diana and myself walked along with our halter tops still on, we went past some guys who I recognized from school. They were actually looking at me; and they were interested in what they saw. One of them was the guy who''d said that he''d like to welcome me with his you know what.


    I heard him tell the guys he was with, "That''s the new girl. I''d enjoy giving her a welcoming fk."


    Hearing him say that made me feel really good. I couldn''t help looking back at him and smiling. He smiled at me in return; while I thought that I''d also enjoy it if he did welcome me the way he said.


    Then we stopped outside the Dark Arts R Us, and the good feeling ended. I stood there feeling very uncomfortable as I looked at the magic shop''s window display, which contained books on witchcraft, pictures of goat headed devils, ouija boards, tarot cards, and other items dealing with the occult, including a very large, inverted crucifix.


    What am I doing here? I wondered. I''m about to actually step inside a shop that sells these things that are used in black magic rituals?


    Now Diana, Roxanna and I went through the doorway.


    Once we were inside the Dark Arts <u>R</u> Us I looked around. I had entered a softly lit shop consisting of shelves displaying all kinds of black magic paraphernalia, along with ghoulish looking items, such as replicas of skulls, dismembered eye-balls, and other parts of human and non-human anatomies. There were occult items, such as what was displayed in the window, along with things that I was unable to identify. There were many books about sorcery, the occult and "Books of Forbidden Knowledge" for anybody to purchase.


    A section "For Adults Only" was located in a large alcove at the rear of the shop. From where I stood in the main area, I saw some of my under age classmates in the alcove. I also saw a poster on one of the alcove''s walls, displaying the photo of a gigantic stone idol.


    The idol depicted the same vampire bat figure that dangled from Roxanna''s necklace. This time I clearly saw its face. It had a woman''s face. Her open mouth displayed a pair of fully extended fangs. Above the photo, were the words,


    "The Goddess Vampirania! To be worshipped by all with Fear and Trembling!"


    I suddenly felt myself trembling. Roxanna and Diana looked at me, with amusement.


    I told my two companions, "I hope you don''t think I''m being a wussy, but everything in here is giving me the creeps; like it''s unbelievably evil. I feel like running outside, and getting as far away from this place, as fast as I can."


    Roxanna spoke. "We are living on a hell mouth Elaine, so the power of evil is much stronger here, than you''d find in most other places."


    I told them, "I just want to buy that Vampires Handbook and get out of here real fast."


    Diana said, "Good idea for a newbie like you Elaine."


    I told them, "I suddenly feel like throwing up."


    Roxanna chuckled. "Then you''d better wait for us outside. We''ll get you the handbook."


    I immediately went out the door. As soon as I stepped back out into the fresh air and sunshine, my trembling ceased, along with the nausea. I took a few deep breaths.


    What the hell''s going on? I wondered. Before we''d stepped inside, I''d been feeling so good. I''d heard that guy say that he wanted to fk me, and I accepted it as a complimentary wish, that I''d love to help him fulfill. But when we''d stepped inside the shop all those good feelings were erased by an overpowering sense of helplessness before the power of evil.


    "Power of Evil"? Yes. I hadn''t been threatened in any way, but I''d never had such a strong feeling of total dread before, than when I was inside the magic shop.


    After what seemed like the longest five minutes of my life, Roxanna and Diana stepped back outside, also taking a few refreshing breaths. Roxanna handed me a small paper bag, with a booklet inside. I reached in the bag, removed the booklet and looked at the cover.


    The "Vampire''s Handbook", was subtitled "Being a Vampire Doesn''t Have to Suck". Under the subtitle was a cartoon smiley face with fangs. Under the smiley face was the blurb "What every new vampire should know."


    Unexpectedly, I again had a strong sense of irrational fear, and began trembling once more. The Handbook I was holding began to shake. My two companions chuckled again.


    "I don''t know what''s the matter with me!" I told them, "I''m just being overwhelmed by this supernatural evil."


    "It''s okay Elaine." Diana tried not to laugh. "We know how to handle it. All you need is to get yourself immunized, with just a little bit of natural evil. Then you''ll be able to resist the really big, supernatural kind."


    "Immunized with ''natural'' evil?"


    "Right, and that won''t be any problem here in Sangreville. Once you get your neck nibbled on and blood sipped out by a vampire, you''ll feel a lot more comfortable living here on the hell mouth."


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    "And if you get your first nibble and sip from ''Mr. Goodbite,''" Roxanna added, "you''ll be grinning all the way home."


    "Wait a minute." My voice shook. "If all I need is to be ''just a little bit evil'', I already am. As a matter of fact, back in Greenfields I was a very bad girl."


    Diana smiled, "You were?"


    "Yes." I told them, "And I won''t have any problem being just as bad here. I used dirty words. I told lies. I cheated at school and one time, I fkd another girl¡¯s boyfriend." I lowered my voice. "I even shoplifted an item from a local store once, and didn''t get caught. I even cursed at my mother. I think that makes me bad enough."


    Diana and Roxanna both nodded their heads.


    "Bad enough," Roxanna told me, "for us to introduce you to Mr. Goodbite."


    "Hey Roxanna!" A girl''s voice called out sharply from the passing crowd. "Diana!"


    A Sangreville High girl stood in front of us, with a Sangreville High guy at her side. She had stylishly set black hair, wore a light blue skirt that hung halfway down her thighs, and a matching halter above her belt. She also wore a pearl necklace and pearl earrings, along with a mother of pearl bracelet. She did not have either a hickey or a bandage on her neck.


    The guy at her side was the one who''d said that he''d like to welcome me with his you know what. I knew I''d enjoy it if he did. She looked at us three with a peeved expression on her face.


    Roxanna and Diana had both stiffened up.


    Roxanna spoke with a tense voice. "Hi Loretta. Nathan."


    The dark haired girl looked at me. "You''re the new girl. My name''s Loretta Cabell."


    "Hi Loretta." I looked uneasily at the guy beside her. "I''m Elaine Harris. I''m also Diana''s cousin."


    "This is Nathan. He''s my boyfriend."


    He said, "Hi." Then she put her arm around his waist.


    Okay. I thought, No problem. There won''t be any complimentary fking between me and him. I might have an occasional, shamelessly skanky, slutty thought, but nothing more than that.


    Loretta ignored me and spoke to Roxanna and Diana. "So what were you doing here in Black Magic Central?"


    My two companions looked at each other uneasily, but said nothing.


    I answered, "We''ve been shopping around. I''ve got myself a few halter-tops, to start building a new wardrobe, that''ll be appropriate for a Sangreville High girl."


    "Good idea." Loretta said, "I think you''ll look good wearing them."


    Now Nathan spoke. "I think you''d look good not wearing them at all. Just that skirt''d be enough."


    I told him, "Thank you. I think."


    Loretta gave him a hard slap.


    "Hey!" He said, "What''d you hit me for?"


    I went on. "We came to this shop so I could get myself a copy of the Vampires Handbook. I hear its recommended reading in this town."


    "It definitely is," she looked straight at Roxanna, "if you''re gonna be hanging around with this Vampirania worshiping bimbo!"


    Roxanna snapped. "Hey! Watch your mouth!"


    "Yeah!" Diana spoke sharply, "What do you want Loretta?"


    "Remember. Your sister Paula''s warned us all to stay away from this shop; so has the Truce Commission. They''ve all said that there''s an evil force inside this place that has to be avoided. If not, that force might open the hell mouth, and things will be who knows how many times worse than they were, before Paula and the rest of us on her Team, negotiated that Nibble and Sip Truce with the vampires."


    I asked, "My cousin Paula took part in negotiating the Truce?"


    Diana explained, "My sister Paula is also the Vampire Staker. She''s also called the ''Vampstaker'', or just ''Staker'', or at least she was."


    "You mean the ''Vampstaker'' actually exists? And she''s my cousin?"


    "That''s true." Roxanna said, "Or she used to exist as the Staker. Once the Truce was signed, she was overjoyed to be able to finally put down her stake and retire from that career. Now she can go on to have a normal life, or unlife, like the rest of us here in Sangreville."


    Loretta told me, "But if the evil force escapes from here, the Truce ends, and things go to being 100 times worse, than they were before."


    I thought of the overpowering sense of evil I''d felt inside the shop. I tried to think of any Bible verse that dealt with this situation, and I remembered the words "Resist the devil and he will flee from you."


    I turned to face the occult display in the window of the magic shop and said, "Get away from us Satan, and stay away from all of us! The Lord rebuke you! In the Name of the Lord Jesus..."


    Loretta shouted. "Don''t say any more!"


    I turned and saw her standing there with her hand raised, looking very distressed. Roxanna looked just as distressed, with both her hands protectively clapped tight around the idol of Vampirania on her necklace.


    "What ever you do," Loretta warned, "don''t do or say anything that might provoke the demonic force!"


    About a half-hour later, Diana and I returned to her house, carrying our books. I also carried the plastic bag containing my new halter-tops and the Vampires Handbook.


    We stepped through the door and went into the kitchen where my mother was, with me wearing my brand new skimpy halter, and my old, knee length skirt.


    My mother took one look at me and called out. "Oh my God!"


    There was distress in her voice. "Why are you dressed like that? And where''s the blouse you were wearing when you left this morning?"


    "It''s okay. I brought it back here with me." I lifted up the shopping bag. "This is the way that most of the girls at Sangreville High dress. It''s sort of their unofficial dress code."


    "Yes. I''ve noticed." She said, "I actually saw some girls your age walking around town bare breasted, in public, and nobody seemed to mind."


    "Nobody here does." Diana explained, "There''s no law against dressing, or not dressing, any way you want here in Sangreville."


    Mom sighed. "There doesn''t seem to be any law against anything here in Sangreville."


    I said, "And I''ve been told that I''d look good dressed in only this skirt."


    "Well I hope you''re not planning to do so."


    "Don''t worry Mom. There''s no law here that says I have to dress that way either, so I won''t."


    "That''s good to know."


    "At least not right away."

 Chapter 4

    <u>Chapter 4</u>


    In the evening after my first day at Sangreville High, while my mother and I stayed at my Aunt Josephine''s house, I was doing my homework in Diana''s room, stretched out along the bed, while Diana sat at the desk, both of us working with our laptop computers.


    The door opened and her 20-year-old sister Paula entered, also casually dressed in the same type of shorts and skimpy top that we were wearing. Paula was a student at Sangreville U. where she lived in a dorm room. On Saturday night she''d come across town from the campus to greet us, and did the same on Sunday night.


    Diana greeted her. "Hi Paula."


    Her sister smiled and I gasped at what I saw. Then I sat up straight on the edge of the bed.


    Paula asked, "Is there a problem Elaine?"


    I''d begun trembling again. "You''ve got fangs." I told her. "You''re a vampire."


    "Don''t worry." Diana again spoke with amusement. "She doesn''t bite."


    "Oh yes I do," Paula, who also looked amused, assured me, "but only at fang-bangs, and then I only bite guys."


    I tried to calm down. "But you didn''t have fangs when you came over on Saturday, or last night."


    "Yes I did, but I kept them retracted. Now I''m alone with my sister and my cousin, so I figure I can relax and just be myself."


    She sat down on the bed beside me, with her pair of long sharp fangs protruding downward between her open, smiling lips.


    "Ohhhh!" I sighed, put my hands on my forehead and shook my head. "Things here are just too much for me to deal with!"


    "It''ll be okay Elaine." Paula assured, "All you need is some studly vamp guy to stick his fangs in you, and you''ll feel a lot better about everything."


    "Right." Diana added, "I always feel a lot better about everything, after I''ve had a studly guy sticking some hard part of himself inside of me."


    "So do I," I told them, "but that''s when that part is his you know what."


    They both laughed. Then my trembling stopped.


    Now I spoke to Paula, "I was told that you''re the Vampstaker."


    "True." She said, "That was my title, before the Truce was instituted. Now I help enforce the Truce. Me and my team see to it that no vampires harass or do anything to harm any living people, except in the way that''s stated in the Truce:


    "''Only during legally defined fang-bangs, when there''s mutual consent''. We also see to it that none of the living harass or do anything to harm the undead."


    Diana said, "Everyone in Sangreville knows that you don''t mess with Paula. Anyone who does loses, totally and for all time."


    "Not always." I pointed out, "Somebody who did mess with your sister won, totally and for all time."


    Paula chuckled. "No. I wasn''t defeated. I got these fangs on by mutual consent. You see, one of the conditions to the signing of the Truce Agreement, was that the Vampstaker had to allow herself to get killed by a vampire. I agreed, on the condition that I wouldn''t stay dead, but that I''d be vamped, so I could come back, to be the one in charge of its enforcement.


    "Everyone involved agreed to my terms; so at midnight, on the night the Truce was signed, I stood out in front of the Town Hall. Then Jake the Vampire came over to me, and I allowed him to chomp his fangs into my neck, all the way. Then he sucked my blood out ''til I died."


    "I see." I asked her, "You''re not only the Staker-Vampire; you''re also the Chief Law Enforcer of the Living and the Undead in Sangreville?"


    "That''s right. I now have the legal authority to stake any vamps, or bite to death any live person, who violates the terms of the Truce."


    Then she smiled. "Now since everybody in Sangreville High knows that you''re my cousin, nobody''s gonna be messing with Elaine Harris."


    Diana added, "Except when you get nibbled and sipped at a fang-bang where Paula''ll be monitoring things."


    Paula said, "I''ll be there just to make sure that accidents don''t happen. Other than that, I won''t spoil anybody''s fun."


    I repeated, "''Fang-bang''?"


    Diana told me, "Roxanna and I are gonna be taking part in the next one on Saturday night. Just a little get together, with a few of our friends at her house. And by the way, we won''t just be getting nibbled and sipped. We''ll also get drunk, get naked, get fkd and most important of all, get away with all of it. Do you want to come along?"


    That night, after Paula had returned to Sangreville U, I''d gone to bed in her old room, totally unable to sleep. I couldn''t get all the very disturbing things I''d heard and seen that day out of my mind; very disturbing things that were routine activities, in this community where I was now living. I was actually expected to allow a ''Mr. Goodbite'' to stab his fangs into my neck, and suck out "about a coffee-mug-full of blood", at a "little fang-bang" on Saturday night?


    I kept thinking of Diana''s question. "Do you want to come along?"


    If I don''t, I wondered, will I be in some kind of trouble? If I could avoid the vampire biting, I''d like to go along with Diana to that fang-bang. I''d like to get drunk, naked and fkd, especially when I can get away with it all. But I knew I won''t be getting away with anything. There are always consequences. "If I do bad things, bad things will happen to me."


    The bad thing that could possibly happen is that I''ll get nibbled by a vampire who''ll have an accident; and I''ll die and come back as a vampire myself; so I should obviously avoid going to that fang-bang, or any fang-bang. But if I don''t go, who knows what kind of trouble I might be in¡­.?


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    I spent the next few days getting accustomed to my new School and Community. Like I said, the curriculum and classes weren''t all that different from how they''d been back in Greenfields. Neither were the kids. However, I did have to make major changes to my wardrobe. I started attending classes dressed in very short skirts or tight shorts, and very skimpy halter-tops. I''d also bought myself a thin mesh top; but I wasn''t ready to wear it yet.


    On Wednesday after school, just to see what it was like, I spent some time walking around downtown, with my boobs naked in public. I felt completely natural, and not at all embarrassed. Nobody walking past me seemed to mind. I saw my reflection in shop windows, and I thought I looked good. But when it was time to return to my Aunt Josephine''s place for dinner with my mother; I put my halter back on, long before I got to the house.


    The next day at school I did wear my new thin mesh top with no undergarment, so everyone could see my nipples, and see that I was becoming a regular Sangreville High girl. Nathan came over to me, looking me over and smiling.


    He said, "You really do look good in that top garment Elaine."


    I smiled back at him. "Thank you Nathan."


    "But I still think you''d look even better without it."


    "Well you might," I continued to smile "if you just happen to see me that way downtown after school."


    After school that day, I was again walking around downtown without any top garment, when Nathan walked past me. Unfortunately, Loretta was beside him. Wouldn''t you know it?


    The three of us said ''Hi", while Nathan looked me over really good, while grinning.


    I sighed. I''d love to have him fk me, I thought, but I don''t want any trouble with Loretta.


    Then I returned home to the apartment, this time I remained topless, with the transparent mesh top in my handbag.


    I told my mother, "I''m dressing this way, just to fit in here. It feels completely natural and comfortable," I giggled, "and it''s a lot of fun."


    "I understand that," she told me, "But it''s still very difficult for me to deal with."


    I continued hanging out with Diana and Roxanna, and a few other girls. I was the only one in the group without a hickey. They all accepted that as a temporary condition, which they expected me to have corrected, during the next fang-bang on Saturday night at Roxanna''s.


    I told Diana, "I''m not sure if I''ll ever be ready to go through with getting nibbled and sipped by a vampire, no matter how sexy he bites."


    "Listen Elaine." She said, "If you don''t get it done this weekend, people''ll start calling you a wussy pussy."


    "I''m not a wussy Diana!"


    "If the Vampstaker''s own cousin chooses to ignore the terms of the Truce, that''s what everyone at Sangreville High''ll think. Paula allowed herself to be killed to put the Truce into effect, so it''s not asking too much for you to join the rest of us, and follow its terms, is it?"


    That week, while I was attending classes in my new High School, my mother had been looking for a place to rent. She found an apartment just a few blocks from Main Street. On Saturday Aunt Josephine and Diana helped us move in. Then we went out to have an early dinner at a nearby diner.


    We returned to the apartment, just as it was getting dark. Since Cousin Paula was a vampire, she was fatally allergic to sunlight; so she hadn''t been able to help with the move in the daytime. She showed up at the apartment about a half-hour after sunset.


    About 7:30 that Saturday night, Diana, Paula and I came out of my new room in our new apartment. My Mother and Aunt Josephine were seated on the living room sofa, watching Book TV on C-Span. When we stepped into the room, appropriately dressed for the fang-bang, my mother actually gasped. She threw up her arms, shook her head and groaned in aggravation, while Aunt Josephine smiled sweetly.


    We three were dressed in skirts of varying lengths. I wore the one I''d had on during my first day at my new school, along with matching heels and nothing above the waist, except for a necklace and earrings. My cousins were similarly dressed.


    Aunt Josephine smiled. "Why you girls look lovely tonight, don''t they Beth?"


    "Josephine!" My mother shouted. "They''re bare breasted! They''re completely displaying their nipples!"


    "We call them ''detonators''." Diana grinned, put her hands on her hips, and thrust her boobs forward. "I''ve got a pair of artillery shells, and I''m ready to go ''bang! bang!''"


    She, Paula, Aunt Josephine and I all laughed, while my mother tried to suppress a smile of her own.


    My Aunt explained, "Their ensembles are considered stylishly chic here in Sangreville. Now look at them. Our daughters are truly beautiful women, aren''t they?"


    "Beautiful skanky bimbo savages!" My mom hesitated. Then she nodded. "Right. They are. Stunningly beautiful! As long as bare breasts are acceptable...I suppose..."


    She thought it over. Then she told me, "Elaine. I''m not sure what to say. I hope you''ll all have a good time. Just be careful with the vampire boys you''ll be meeting tonight."


    We three girls with the bare boobs couldn''t help chuckle.


    Diana asked, "Careful? Aunt Beth, they''re gonna be sticking their fangs in us tonight, along with the other part that you expect guys to stick into girls; so they can''t help getting rough. That''s the entire purpose of the evening."


    "When I said ''careful'' I was talking about safe sex."


    "Mom," I told her, "I''ve already taken care of that, like I always do."


    Paula assured her. "We''re all being sexually responsible Aunt Beth."


    Mom sighed. "Oh, I don''t know what to tell you!"

 Chapter 5

    Chapter 5


    Am I going to die tonight? I wondered, as Paula drove me and Diana through the dark early evening, away from our new apartment, headed toward Roxanna''s home. Tonight, some vampire guy would be "doing whatever he wants" to my bare boobied body. He might lose self control, ignore the terms of the Truce and "accidentally" kill me. Paula said she''d be keeping an eye out for me, but something might happen anyway.


    Until tonight, the only guy who I''d ever let do anything he wanted to my naked body was Larry; and what he did was fk me in a ''gentlemanly way'', that left me very satisfied, with no hickeys or bruises. Would a hungry vampire be that considerate?


    I''d now been here in Vampire Town for a week, and the only vampire I''d met so far was my cousin Paula, the former Vampstaker, who seemed to have everything, especially her own bloodlust, under control. But Paula was an extraordinary woman. I was sure that the vamp who''d be biting my neck, wouldn''t have any more self control than any sadistic guy when he''s getting rough with a woman.


    We reached Roxanna''s house in a little more than 10 minutes. She greeted us at the front door, wearing only a very short skirt, hanging to the tops of her thighs, a necklace dangling between her naked boobs and a pair of earrings. She escorted us downstairs to a finished basement, where two bare breasted girls who also attended Sangreville High, were seated on a plush sofa, each making out with a bare chested guy, who was also among our classmates. One of the girls was Loretta Cabell, who was seated on the sofa, in Nathan''s lap. They were kissing hot and wet, so were the other girl and her guy.


    Four bare chested, Sangreville High guys were standing in the room, holding cocktail glasses containing some kind of drink. Other half emptied cocktail glasses stood on a coffee table in front of the sofa. A strong smell of alcohol filled the room.


    Roxanna called out, "Everybody''s here now! It''s time to start!"


    When the four guys saw Roxanna, Paula, Diana and me enter the room bare boobied, they all grinned and put down their drinks. Loretta and Nathan got up off the sofa, so did the other couple who were making out.


    Roxanna walked up to one of the four guys without girls. They put their arms around one another, held each other tight and kissed heavily. Paula walked up to another guy, and did the same, as did Diana with a different guy. Loretta went into the arms of the guy who''d been making out with the other girl on the sofa.


    At this same time a grinning Nathan approached me. I walked up to him. He took me in his arms. I put mine around him. I pressed my naked "detonators" up against his hairy chest, ready to go bang. We began kissing heavily.


    "If you want to fk me tonight," I told him, "I want it too."


    That''s what he wanted, and that''s what we did. That''s what every one of us in Roxanna''s finished basement did that night.


    We''d been going at it for about an hour and a half. By then every one of us was naked, drunk and fkd.


    That was when Paula called out, "Okay everyone! Time to begin the fang-bang!"


    We all stood up, and separated from our partners. Then we got back into our pants or skirts. Paula had extended her fangs. She walked over to Nathan. They went into each other''s arms. Paula put her mouth against his neck, and bit her fangs in, causing his blood to flow. She began sucking his blood out, gulping it down.


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    At that same moment, everyone began to count. "One-thousand-one! One-thousand-two! One-thousand-three! One-thousand-four..."; and on, until they reached "One-thousand-ten!"


    Paula quickly pulled back from him, with a satisfied smile on her lips. Nathan looked woozy, trying to keep his balance. He quickly sat down on the sofa, with a hand against the wounds in his neck. There was a large pack of bandages and a large bottle of ointment on the coffee table. Paula quickly applied both to his neck.


    Then she gave him a quick kiss on the lips and said, "Thank you stud."


    At the same time, the guy who Paula had been making out with displayed his own vampire fangs. He went over to Nathan''s girlfriend Loretta, who took him in her arms, and accepted his bite and gulps while everyone counted up to "One-thousand-ten!" Then he helped apply the medication and bandage to her neck.


    Now Diana told me, "He''s ''Mr. Goodbite''. He''s the only vamp guy here. He''s gonna bite all of us live girls. Paula''s gonna bite all the live guys. By the time it''s over, they''ll both be fully nourished and we''ll all still be alive."


    Diana walked up to him, and let him have her neck; while Paula walked up to another guy and gave him a bite.


    That''s what happened with all of us girls and guys at the fang-bang. Mr. Goodbite took me in his arms, and stabbed his fangs into my neck. The bite wasn''t too deep, but it hurt really good. I felt his cold mouth against my neck, and his cold tongue licking up my blood, while people standing beside us counted.


    "One-thousand-one! One-thousand-two! One-thousand-three! One-thous..."


    I was beginning to weaken.


    I prayed silently, Forgive me Lord. Please keep me from dying. Keep me from dying. Keep me from...


    I was aware of nothing.


    I opened my eyes, and found myself seated on the sofa, while Paula, Diana and Mr. Goodbite hovered around me. I felt Paula patting a bandage over the wounds in my neck.


    I looked at Mr. Goodbite. "Did you kill me?" I asked nervously. "Am I dead? Am I a vampire? Am I getting my fangs on now?"


    "None of those things, Cousin Elaine." Paula grinned, "You just fainted. Happens to a lot of girls their first time. You are now an officially initiated Hellmouth Gal."


    Around midnight, Paula drove Diana and me home. She dropped me off at the apartment. Then my undead Vampstaker cousin drove Diana back to the Sheridan''s house and herself back to her Sangreville U dorm.


    I went inside the apartment house, and entered our apartment. I''d put my skirt back on, and made sure my hair was combed neatly again, and my makeup reapplied, but I couldn''t remove the very big grin from my face. My mother was waiting up for me, still sitting on the living room couch.


    She asked me uneasily, "So how did things go at the fang-bang? Did you have a good time?"


    "Yes mother. I had a good time. I got fkd by a boy named Nathan. He''s gonna be writing dirty things about me on one of the students'' websites."


    She sighed. Then she said, "You have bandages on your neck."


    I nodded. "I also got bit by a vampire, but I didn''t die. Nobody did."


    She asked, "Were there any problems?"


    "Well." I admitted, "While I was getting nibbled and sucked out by the vampire, I fainted."


    "You fainted?"


    "Just for a moment; but I didn''t die and I''m not a vampire."


    "That''s good to know."


    "One more thing;" I told her, "I won''t be attending any more fang-bangs."

 Chapter 6

    <u>Chapter</u><u> 6</u>


    When I woke up the next morning, I was still grinning. I''d just had one terrific night, of uncommitted, recreational fking with Nathan! Then I''d had one hunk of a vampire guy stick his fangs in me, and then nibble and suck me out, good and rough; or "ruff-ruff-ruff!" They were both better stickers than Larry had been.


    No. I thought, I shouldn''t think that way about Larry. When I send him an e-mail, I''m obviously not gonna be telling him that. He and I did have a committed, long lasting, true love relationship that would have continued if I hadn''t moved away. The night before we left, he and I gave each other a good-bye fk, expressing our true love.


    What I''d done at the fang-bang had nothing to do with love. I was having a lot of fun being a Hellmouth Gal, doing my part in helping keep the Truce, and it was the most exciting time I''d ever had in my life!


    It was also the scariest, and I was never gonna do it again!


    I got up. It was Sunday morning. Mom and I would be going to Church. While skimpy, sexy garments and even naked boobs were acceptable all over Sangreville, I was sure that wouldn''t be so in any local house of worship. I would attend fully clothed, from neck to knees.


    When I sat down at the breakfast table, with a satisfied smile still on my lips, Mom told me, "I''d like you to try to stay away from your cousins Paula and Diana. They''ve been having a definitely bad influence on you."


    "Bad influence? Mom. You''ve told me that when you were in High School, you fkd a few boys just for fun yourself, and you let one of them keep your bra as a souvenir."


    "But that was when we were alone, in a private place. I never walked around in public with my breasts naked, and I never got nibbled by a vampire."


    "But you weren''t living on a hellmouth Mom."


    She sighed. "I understand that, but I don''t want you to use ''living on the hell-mouth'' as an excuse for doing things that you know just aren''t right. I still don''t want you spending too much time with your cousins."


    Okay. I wasn''t gonna argue. I''d still spend time with them. I just wouldn''t tell my mother about it.


    So we attended worship at a local Church that morning. I recognized some of my classmates, who were also fully clothed. One of them was Loretta. I waved at her. She scowled and looked away from me.


    Well, I thought, I did fk her boyfriend. But she was fking another girl''s boyfriend at the same time. I supposed that meant that nobody really got away with being a totally slutty, skanky bimbo. At least not get away totally.


    The worship service began. I joined in the hymns, the prayers, the collection of tithes and offerings, and the Bible reading. That was the time when I''d usually waited to see if God was speaking to me. Today, He was speaking a reprimand.


    The Pastor preached. "With the signing of the Truce, we the Citizens of Sangreville, both the living and undead, have made a treaty with Hell! I don''t know how many of our young people, some of whom I''m sure are sitting here with us this morning, attended a fang bang last night!


    ¡°I''m also sure that there may have been one or more ''accidents''! The death and destruction have not been eliminated! There seems to be one deadly ''accident'' every weekend. There is no way to stop that from continuing. However, that need not be so for any individual, who will follow the Word of the Lord!"


    He now read from the Bible, which was open on the pulpit before him. He read Ephesians 6: 10-19.


    "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil''s schemes.


    "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.


    "Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.


    "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel."


    That afternoon we were back in the apartment. I was in my room when Mom got a phone call.


    I was seated at my desk, where I''d turned on my laptop computer, and logged on to the Sangreville High Students'' websites. While I''d thought that Greenfields High''s "No Longer a Virgin." website was embarrassing, what I found on Sangreville''s "Fang-Bangs" site was far beyond that.


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    The one I''d attended on Saturday night was being shown on video, for the whole world to see. There had actually been a hidden camera in Roxanna''s basement, taping all of us naked, drunk and fking, and then getting bit by vampires. The vamps were invisible on the tape, so all it showed was what looked like us living guests, doing sexual stuff with nobody, and getting nibbled and sipped by nobody. It was all just too weird.


    Then I noticed something I''d hardly paid attention to during the fang-bang. On the wall a poster of the idol of the Goddess Vampirania was displayed. It was a copy of the same poster I''d seen at the Dark Arts R Us; the one that had overwhelmed me with nauseating fear. This time, I didn''t feel like throwing up.


    There was also a moment when Roxanna came up close to the shelf where the tiny camera had been hidden in plain sight. I clearly saw that she''d worn the necklace, with the miniature idol of Vampirania dangling between her naked boobs.


    Okay! I thought. Part of being on the Hellmouth, but...when I see Roxanna tomorrow morning...


    My mother knocked on my door. "Elaine." She sounded distressed. "Will you come out here a minute?"


    I quickly turned off my computer, came out of my room and went into the kitchen, where she was seated at the table, actually trembling.


    "Mom? What''s the matter?"


    "I just got a phone call from your Aunt Josephine. She said Diana didn''t get up this morning."


    I laughed, "I''m not surprised."


    "Elaine! Don''t joke! This is serious!"


    I repeated, "''Part of being a Sangreville girl'' Mom."


    "That''s the problem. When she hadn''t got up by noontime, your Aunt Josephine went into Diana''s room to wake her up, and she found her dead! Killed by a vampire!"


    That ended the joking.


    "What! Dead?" I said, "No. That''s not possible! She let a vampire guy give her a nibble and take a few sips. She was a little woozy for a few minutes, but by the time we left, she was okay. Same as me."


    Mom said, "But your cousin Diana is now dead and becoming a vampire. Your Aunt Josephine pushed her lips up, and found a pair of fangs growing inside her mouth."


    I said, "Well that can''t be because of what happened at the fang-bang. Everyone there was very careful, keeping an eye on each other, so there wouldn''t be any accidents; either sexual or vampirical."


    "Then why did this happen?"


    "I have no idea. I''m new here."


    Mom and I sat there quietly, thinking things over for a while. I thought over what I''d been reading in the Vampires Handbook.


    Then I said, "It might be that after Paula dropped me off, she and Diana went to another fang-bang where things got out of hand. I''ll talk to Roxanna tomorrow, and see if she knows what happened."


    The following morning, I entered 2nd Period History Class, dressed like many of the other girls, in a short skirt and tight halter-top, with a souvenir bandage on my neck. Diana was not seated at her desk. Roxanna was there, but Nathan''s desk was also unoccupied.


    I came over to Roxanna and said, "Did you hear about Diana? She''s a vampire."


    She nodded, looking very distressed. "So is Nathan."


    "Not him too? What happened? We were all careful."


    She shook her head. "I haven''t the slightest idea."


    The teacher entered the room.


    During the remainder of the morning classes, everybody was talking about their two classmates who''d been safely nibbled in a non-fatal way, but had later died and were now becoming undead.


    I asked a few people if they had any idea why that happened. What they all told me was, "Just an accident."


    At lunchtime Nathan''s girlfriend Loretta came over to my table and sat beside me.


    She told me, "They weren''t vamped by accident. That fang-bang we attended was not only being held to keep the Truce, it was also a ceremony of human sacrifice, to a pagan deity."


    "A pagan human sacrifice?"


    "Do you remember what Roxanna was wearing?"


    "When we first arrived, she had a very short skirt on, and nothing above the belt. Just like the rest of us. Then once things got started, she wore nothing at all. Just like you, me and everyone else there."


    "One thing she didn''t remove was the necklace, with the idol of Vampirania dangling on it between her naked boobs."


    "Right. I saw that on the fang-bang website. But that wasn''t where my attention was focused, while the fang-bang was going on."


    "She was acting as priestess of the goddess Vampirania. Vampirania used the power of the idol, to increase the deadliness of the vampire biting''s, so that a male and a female would die in sacrifice to her."


    I was startled. "Diana and Nathan were sacrifices?"


    She nodded. "You should have kept your mouth shut outside the Dark Arts <u>R</u> Us."


    "Me?"


    "You spoke words of exorcism that challenged the Power inside the shop. That provoked the Power, and the two of them died to appease the demonic force. If you hadn''t spoken those words, the sacrifices wouldn''t have been necessary."


    I said, "You''re blaming me?"


    "What I don''t understand," she went on, "is why Diana and Nathan died and became undead instead of you, when you were the one who provoked them."


    "I have no idea if I provoked them or not," I told her, "but whether I did or didn''t, I''m never going anywhere near the Dark Arts <u>R</u> Us Shop ever again!"


    She nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. It might keep the Dark Spirits quiet."


    "And I''m not gonna be attending any more fang-bangs either."


    "That''s a good idea too. Might prevent any further ''accidents''."

 Chapter 7

    <u>Chapter 7</u>


    When I got back to the apartment that afternoon, my mother told me, "I got a call from your Aunt Josephine a few hours ago. Your Cousin Diana is now undead, and she wants to talk to you."


    "Diana wants to talk?"


    Mom nodded. "Over the phone." She sighed, "Vampires can''t bite you over the phone."


    I went into my room, took out my cell phone, switched it on and dialed my cousin''s number. I put the device to my ear and listened to it ring a few times. Then I heard her voice.


    "Hello." Diana spoke. Her voice sounded no different than it had before. "Who is this?"


    "Hi Diana." I told her, "This is Elaine, your cousin."


    "Hi Elaine."


    I said, "So how are you doing?"


    "How am I doing?"


    "Well, I''m not sure what to say. What do I ask?"


    "I''m not sure."


    "Well...how about...What''s it like being undead?"


    "What''s it like? Well, not really all that different than when I was alive, except that I can''t go outside in daylight, and that right now I''m really hungry."


    I asked, "But you''re not hungry for anything that normally comes with fries, are you?"


    "That''s right." She told me, "My appetite has changed. I''d prefer the warm, pumping blood of a dying human now."


    "Is that including mine?"


    "Don''t worry. My mom went to the butcher shop and got me some pig''s blood to drink. Everybody''ll safe from me." Her voice now had a sad tone. "I''d still like us to be friends Elaine."


    "Friends? So would I Diana, but just how safe would I be?"


    "Safe as before." She told me, "I''m just gonna nibble and sip guys who I bite at fang-bangs, when there are people around to count up to ''one thousand-ten''. I''m not gonna violate the Truce. And don''t worry. My vampire appetite is heterosexual. I only want to bite studly guys to death."


    "That''s good to know. I think."


    "Of course it would be nice if Mr. Goodbite had made you into my vampire buddy, so we could go hunting studs together."


    "Thank you Diana, but I''d prefer to spend the rest of my life here in Sangreville alive."


    "Sure Elaine. I understand that, but things might not be that easy. Now that you''re a hellmouth gal, you''re expected to continue taking part in helping keep the Truce."


    "Forget that!" I told her, "On Saturday night I was a fang-bang gal, but just that once. I''ve decided not attend any more fang-bangs."


    "Oh don''t wimp out Elaine! No matter how horny or hungry the vampire guys are, they''re not gonna violate the Truce."


    "Does that really matter?" I said, "Paula didn''t violate the truce when she nibbled and sipped out Nathan, and Mr. Goodbite didn''t violate it either, when he did the same to you, but you and Nathan are now vampires anyway."


    "Nathan too?" She sounded distressed.


    "Oh." I asked her, "You didn''t know? This is the first time you''ve heard about it?"


    "Yeah." Now she sounded even more distressed. "I just un-deaded a few hours ago. All I know is what my Mom told me. And Paula''s gonna come over and talk to me after it gets dark. Tell me Elaine. Did it happen to anyone else; Roxanna, or Loretta, or any of the other guys or girls at the fang-bang?"


    "No. They''re all okay and alive. It''s just you and Nathan who are undead."


    After we hung up, I continued wondering if Loretta had been right, about me having provoked demonic forces who caused Diana and Nathan to die as sacrifices.


    Later that evening, I came out of my room, wearing ankle length slacks and a halter-top, along with a necklace that had a small cross dangling between the tops of my boobs.


    I told my mother, "I''m going to be meeting a girl named Loretta at the Bouncing Casket."


    She gasped.


    "It''s okay Mom. This isn''t a fang-bang night. That''s reserved for weekends. Nobody gets nibbled and sipped on Monday nights."


    "But are you sure you''ll be safe anyway? Are you sure some vampire won''t attack you, no matter what night it is?"


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    I touched the necklace and pointed to the cross. "This should be enough protection, as long as I keep it in plain sight."


    "Are you sure of that?" She asked, "Now that you''ve been engaging in carnal sin?"


    I let go of the cross and lowered my hand.


    "I''ve repented." I told her. "I won''t be attending any more fang-bangs."


    "I''m glad to hear that."


    "And the next time I get fkd, it''ll be by my husband on my wedding night."


    She made a joke choking sound. "Yeah-right."


    "Well," I told her, "at least I won''t tonight. We''ll be in a well-lighted public place, and tonight it''ll be just us repentant heterosexual gals."


    Around 8 o''clock that evening, I arrived at the Bouncing Casket, a typical teen hangout, with a counter, tables and chairs, and booths alongside the walls. Recorded music was playing. This was a Monday night. The place was only about half filled with Sangreville High kids.


    I looked around, searching through the familiar faces. Some of the kids were making out. I saw Loretta in a booth, making out with Nathan. They were actually tongue kissing. She was licking his new fangs with her tongue, and she wasn''t holding back?


    Roxanna was seated at one of the tables. She raised her arm and waved at me. I went over to her. I stood beside the table and pointed.


    "Do you see that? Loretta''s making out with Nathan?"


    Roxanna nodded. "Fang-bang''s over. The random fking around only happens then. If you want to fk him again, or any other girl''s boyfriend, that''s the only chance any of us have."


    "Forget it." I shook my head. "Not any more, at least for me, now that he''s a vampire. Loretta''s tasting his fangs? What is she suicidal?"


    "No. Neither of them are gonna violate the Truce. He''ll just be giving her nibble and sip later. She''ll count up to ''One-thousand-ten'' and he''ll stop."


    "But if he''s a brand new vampire, who knows how hungry he''ll be? He might be too hungry to keep the Truce, and just give her a hicky. That was all that Paula gave him, and now he''s a vampire."


    Roxanna raised her hand and made a patting down gesture. "Relax. That won''t happen here tonight. They''re not gonna violate the truce."


    I now sat down in the seat across the table from her. Roxanna was again wearing the necklace, with Vampirania''s idol dangling between her now halter-covered boobs.


    I told her, "During the fang-bang, you had a large poster of Vampirania taped to the wall of your basement," I pointed, "and you were wearing that idol, which is worn by her worshipers."


    She stiffened up slightly. Then she said, "That''s right. She is the one I worship."


    I nodded, "That might lead some people to think that while we took part in the fang-bang, we were also unknowingly engaging in idol worship."


    "I was." she told me. "I don''t know about the rest of you."


    "I worship the Lord my God, and only Him. Tell me Roxanna, was the blood that was shed during the fang-bang, used as a sacrifice to satisfy Vampirania?"


    "My blood was," She told me "as was the blood of everybody; while it was also satisfying the vampires who were sucking us out." She laughed, "And you were very satisfied yourself."


    "Yeah. We all were, but now the fang-bang is over, and my cousin and the guy who fkd me then are now both undead. Is that what it took to ''appease the power of evil''?"


    Roxanna said nothing. She just sat there, looking around nervously.


    I asked, "Tell me Roxanna. Did Diana and Nathan die as sacrifices to Vampirania?"


    She put her finger to her lips. "There are some things I''m not permitted to say."


    I said, "Then I''m right about that, aren''t I?"


    She warned firmly, "Keep your mouth shut, Miss Harris. If you don''t, you might have an accident yourself at the next fang-bang, and not come back undead."


    "Are you threatening me?"


    "No. It''s just good advice, that you should pay attention to."


    "I agree," I told her, "and I won''t be attending any more fang-bangs."


    "Good idea."

 Chapter 8

    <u>Chapter 8</u>


    A half hour later, I arrived at my Aunt Josephine''s place. Nathan drove me in his car, through the dark quiet residential streets, beneath a starry sky. Loretta sat beside him in the front seat, while I was in the back. When we arrived, my Cousin Paula''s car was parked in the driveway.


    "She''s here." I said, "Now we might actually learn something, and people might stop blaming me for what happened to you, Nathan."


    Nathan parked beside the curb in front of the house. I got out of the car, along with him and Loretta. We went up the front walk and climbed the steps onto the porch, where I rang the front doorbell.


    The door opened. Aunt Josephine stood there looking somewhat troubled.


    "Good evening Elaine." She spoke without smiling, and looked at my companions.


    "Aunt Josephine. This is Nathan and she''s Loretta. They attended the fang-bang with me, Diana and Paula on Saturday night. We''d like to talk to both of them."


    I heard Paula''s voice call out from inside the house. "I''d like to talk to them too!"


    Now Diana stood in the doorway, beside her mother.


    "Nathan?" She had a whimpery tone in her voice, "I was told you''re now a vampire, just like me."


    "That''s right." He said, "Just like you; and I got this way the same way you did."


    Her mother asked him, "You''re a new vampire?"


    He nodded, "Yes Mrs. Sheridan."


    "Is it safe to let you in?"


    "About a half hour ago," he spoke uneasily. "I nibbled Loretta and sipped her blood for a measured count of ten. I shouldn''t be hungry for the rest of the night."


    Loretta nodded and pointed to the fresh bandages on her neck.


    My Aunt asked "A ¡®measured count''?"


    Diana said. "You know, ''One thousand one! One thousand two! Up to one thousand ten."


    She nodded. "Right. You''re all welcome to come on in."


    She opened the door and we three visitors entered my Aunt''s and Cousin''s home. We stepped into the living room. My vampire cousin Paula sat in an easy chair, wearing only a pair of shorts and shoes, with her fangs and boobs fully exposed. My mother was also there. She sat fidgeting on the sofa while remaining fully clothed.


    "Hi Mom." I uneasily introduced, "...Loretta and Nathan. They go to my school."


    "That''s our School," Loretta sounded peeved "which Nathan will no longer be attending; at least not in the daytime. He now has to enroll in night classes; just like Diana."


    Mom asked, "He''s a brand new vampire?"


    Paula told her, "That''s right; because of me, at the fang-bang that we all attended on Saturday night."


    My mother spoke to him. "Your name is Nathan? Are you the one who fkd my daughter Elaine here during that fang-bang?"


    He looked away from her.


    I said, "Yeah. He was, but that was before we started the fang-banging. He wasn''t a vampire then. He''s also Loretta''s boyfriend."


    "Her boyfriend?" Now Mom got angry. "Her boyfriend? Elaine!"


    "It''s okay!" I tried to explain. "You see. That''s what happens at fang-bangs. It was just a fang-bang...bang...ing. It''s what everybody does before the bitings begin."


    "''What everybody does''? Is that supposed to make it okay?"


    Now Loretta spoke. "It''s okay with me Mrs. Harris. As long as it only happens at fang-bangs, I have no objections. While my boyfriend was fucking your daughter, I couldn''t object, because I was fucking the boyfriend of another girl at the fang-bang; while that girl was fucking..."


    Mom said, "Oh I don''t believe this! We really have moved to Sodom and Gomorrah!"


    Loretta went on, "But that only happens at fang-bangs. At all other times, Nathan and I are completely faithful to each other. I''m sure that Elaine will be just as faithful to whoever she starts going steady with, except, of course, at fang-bangs."


    Mom repeated, "''Of course''?"


    "Actually," Now Diana quoted Roxanna. "''It''s mostly Gomorrah here. Very little Sodom.''"


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    Now Paula, who''d been sitting quietly until now, spoke sharply. "That''s not what you''ve all come here to discuss!"


    We all turned toward her.


    "Who was fucking who, during the fang-bang doesn''t matter. What matters is what happened to Diana and Nathan here after it ended, and we''d all gone home."


    Loretta added, "And why it happened."


    My mother said, "It sounds to me like somebody might have become careless."


    Paula said, "It wasn''t me. I''m always careful, and so is Mr. Goodbite."


    "''Mr. Goodbite''?" Mom asked, "Just who is this ''Mr. Goodbite¡¯ who I''ve heard you girls giggling about?"


    We girls giggled.


    "His name''s Steve." I told her, "He''s a Senior. He''s the one who fang-banged me, and caused me to faint. But he wasn''t being careless, and everybody there was looking after each other."


    Aunt Josephine looked at Diana, "Was he careless with you?"


    "No Mom."


    Now my mother said, "I''ve been told there was heavy drinking going on. Could that have been a contributing factor?"


    We kids all looked at each other.


    Loretta said, "It''s possible."


    Nathan said, "Well I was very drunk."


    "So was I." Diana added.


    "Me too." I said, "That might be another reason why I fainted."


    I looked at Loretta. "Then their unexpected vampings might not have been caused by supernatural means."


    Mom asked, "Supernatural?"


    Loretta told her, "It''s a theory," she looked at me, "which doesn''t have to be totally abandoned."


    She spoke to Paula, "Maybe you and Mr. Steven ''Goodbite'' should speak to the fang-bang''s hostess Roxanna about it."


    "Roxanna? Right." Paula, my vampire cousin nodded. "One of those people who worship Vampirania. It looks like Diana, Nathan and myself, should have a talk with one of them, who might be meeting up at the Demons Gateway tonight."


    Then my Staker-Vampire cousin, Paula the Truce Enforcer, stood up and headed toward the door with her fangs extended.


    Loretta called out, "Paula!"


    Paula halted and looked back at her.


    "Instead of taking your sister and my boyfriend to fight any demons," Nathan''s girlfriend said, "you should have your cousin Elaine here go with you instead."


    Everyone was startled; especially me.


    "Me?"


    "Yes you." Loretta said, "You are the one who knows how to challenge demons."


    Mom asked "You challenged a demon?"


    "That''s right Mom; last Monday after school. We were outside the Dark Arts Are Us Shop. I remembered what the Bible says: ''Resist the devil and he will flee from you''; and that''s just what I did.


    "I looked through the display window and said, ''Get away from us Satan, and stay away from all of us! The Lord rebuke you! In the Name of the Lord Jesus...'' and that might have been what caused this problem."


    Mom asked, "Elaine''s prayer caused Diana and Nathan to become vampires?"


    "It''s possible Mom." I nodded. "I resisted the devil. He fled from me, and attacked Diana and Nathan instead."


    Aunt Josephine said, "But that''s just a possibility. You don''t know for sure."


    Now Paula spoke. "It''s possible enough to work!


    "Cousin Elaine. I''d like you to come with me to the Demons Gateway."


    "Come with you to the Demons Gateway? Me? You''re the Vampire Staker; now the Staker-Vampire! You know what you''re doing! I don''t!"


    "What you do know Elaine is how to resist the devil so he''ll flee from you. If you come along, you might be able to make him flee from me along with you. I want to make sure that what happened to Diana and Nathan won''t happen to anyone else! To do that, I''m going to need your help, Cousin Elaine!"


    "But if he flees from you, and flees from me again, he might attack other people again!"


    "Not if we set up a Consecrated Sacred Barrier at the entrance to the Demon''s Gateway. Then Vampirania will be unable to get out and attack any more members of this Community."

 Chapter 9

    <u>Chapter 9</u>


    About ten minutes later, Cousin Paula and I stepped outside Aunt Josephine''s house. Under the clear night sky, a few of the brightest stars twinkled above us. My Staker-Vampire cousin was now fully clothed, wearing a blouse above her belt, along with the same pair of shorts she''d had on when we''d entered the house. She also had a foot long, sharpened wooden stake in a sheath strapped to her belt.


    The two of us went over to her car, got in and drove off; leaving Aunt Josephine, my mother, Diana, Nathan and Loretta behind us.


    Paula sat behind the wheel. I was in the front seat beside her, looking out the window at the orderly homes which stand alongside the dark quiet residential streets we drove along. I remained dressed the same as I was when I''d left the apartment earlier; except that I now wore a larger cross dangling between by boobs, on a different necklace that I borrowed from Diana. On my lap, I now held a Bible that I borrowed from Aunt Josephine.


    "What are we doing?" I wondered. "A bloodthirsty vampire and a not entirely repentant participant in carnal sin, are going to try to defeat a very powerful demon? Are you sure we''re the one''s who should be doing this?"


    "If not us," Paula asked "who else?"


    I groaned.


    Then I said, "Don''t ask me. I''m new around here."


    We now drove along Main Street, where most of the shops were closed. The Bouncing Casket and the Dark Arts <u>R</u> Us were still open.


    As we drove past the Dark Arts shop I called out, "Be gone Satan!"


    We continued driving. We''d gone about one block further, when I called out again.


    "In Jesus Name!" Then I said quietly, "Which I think I''m taking in vain."


    Then we''d left Sangreville, going up the unlighted, two lane highway, along which I''d first rode into this ''unique'' community. We drove along the long, upward curving rural road, with Paula''s headlights being the only illumination on the two lanes ahead.


    After a few minutes drive, the headlights illuminated the signboard, besides the beginning of the gravel pathway leading up to the Demons'' Gateway, displaying the image of Vampirania.


    Now Paula slowed down, pulled over to the side of the road and stopped, just a few feet from the pathway''s entrance. She parked and shut off the engine. The headlights went dark.


    We were now high above the lights of Sangreville, which were too distant to illuminate anything. Around us was only darkness; the dark silhouettes of trees against the not as dark, star filled but moonless sky. I could hardly see the roadway. I would not be able to see where I''d be stepping. The only sound was crickets.


    Now I spoke. "I don''t see any other cars. Are you sure something''s going on here tonight?"


    "I was told that there would be." Paula said, "We should at least check it out."


    I groaned again. This time softly.


    "Even if no people are here," she told me "Vampirania is; and we''ve come up here to seal her in."


    My cousin leaned over, opened the glove compartment, reached in and took out a flashlight. Then she opened her door and stepped outside, while I remained seated.


    "Are you coming Elaine?" she called out impatiently.


    "Right." I spoke nervously. "I''ll be right there."


    "And don''t forget your Bible."


    "Right."


    I gripped the Bible on my lap, unclipped my seatbelt, opened my door, and stepped out into the dark night upon the mountainside, hearing only the chirping of crickets. The air was also cooler up here than it had been down in Sangreville. I began to shiver slightly.


    I said, "We should have brought jackets."


    "That''s the least of our problems." She said.


    We shut the car doors. Then we moved toward the gravel pathway, with the circle of light from Paula''s flashlight going ahead of us, showing where we should put our feet. Then we turned up the path. The sound of gravel softly crunching under our steps, joined with the chirping of the crickets in the shrubbery around us.


    Our climb up the pathway to the Cavern''s entrance was steep but short. We reached it in less than a minute. Then we halted. Paula waved the circular beam from her flashlight back and forth around the outer edges of the 30 foot high entrance. She shined it into the center of the cavern, where it illuminated nothing.


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    I told her, "Nobody''s here."


    Then the sound of a loud rushing wind came from inside the Cavern. A warmth emerged through the entrance, ending my physical shivering, but increasing my feeling of dread. Around us, outside the Cavern no breeze blew, none of the foliage stirred, and the cricket''s chirping remains undisturbed.


    Now a loud, echoing, amplified, laughing, young female voice boomed from inside the deep darkness. "You''re only two?"


    I cried out, "Ahhh!" and started to back away.


    Paula reached out and put her arm around me, keeping me at her side.


    The woman at the center of the dark Cavern called out. "You two aren''t the only entirely human, sin filled beings who will be going through here tonight!"


    My cousin and I both shuddered, but only for a moment.


    Paula says, "I recognize her voice."


    "So do I." I called out in annoyance. "Okay Roxanna!" My voice now echoed just as loudly as hers. "We know it''s you! No one to be afraid of!"


    Roxanna''s echoing voice boomed again, in mocking laughter. "You should be!"


    "Well we''re not!" Paul called out, just as annoyed, with her voice also echoing just as loud. "So come on out and show your unrepentant self!"


    "No!" My classmate called out, "Both of you come in here!"


    In the amplified echo of her words, we hear other voices repeating, "Both of you come in here!"


    These were male voices, which now repeated, along with Roxanna "Come in here! Come in here! Come in here!"


    I spoke with a trembling voice. "I think it''s time for me to start reading scripture."


    Paula said, "Go ahead."


    I lifted the Bible I''d been carrying, while my cousin shined her flashlight on the pages I was flipping through.


    Now I, the trembling Elaine Harris call out, reading scripture.


    "¡¯These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.¡¯"


    The girl inside the cavern called out, "It''s not going to work this time! You were both drunk and fucking at the fang bang on Saturday night! Why should God listen to you after that?"


    I called out, "I call upon the Lord to shut and lock the door of this demons'' gateway, so that the demons will no longer be able to attack any more members of our community; and we will all be healed. I ask in Jesus Name. Amen."


    From inside the Cavern, Roxanna called out again, in a mocking tone. "It''s not working! You''re not shutting Vampirania out!"


    Now Paula handed me the flashlight. She gripped the stake she''d clipped to her belt, pulling it out of its sheath. Then the Staker Vampire called out, "But we can shut you down Roxanna!"


    At that moment I heard a loud, echoing twang from inside the cavern entrance.


    A moment, later Paula cried out. "Ahhhh!" She fell backward onto the gravel. Then things were silent.


    "Paula?" I was still holding the flashlight, which I''d aimed into the cavern, revealing nothing. "Paula?"


    I then shone the flashlight beam on Paula, who lay on the ground beside me.


    In the light, is saw my cousin Paula Sheridan, daughter of my Aunt Josephine and sister of my cousin Diana; the Staker-Vampire-Staker and Chief enforcer of the Truce in Sangreville, lying dead with an arrow sticking out from between her boobs, through a dark red patch of blood on her blouse. Her Staker stake lay on the ground beside her, and her fangs protruded from her open mouth.


    "Paula!" I knelt beside her, shaking all over. "Paula!"


    Again I heard the mocking voice of Roxanna call out from inside the Cavern.


    "The Staker-Vampire has been killed with a sharp wooden stake through her heart! She will never revive again!"


    I called out "But now we don''t have anyone to enforce the Truce here in Sangreville, Roxanna!"


    "I know what we need in Sangreville, Elaine Harris!"


    I stood up, again shining the flashlight beam into the cavern, again seeing nothing, while hearing her voice call out again.


    "Listen to me Elaine Harris!"


    I stood completely still.


    "You were standing beside the Vampire Staker when she died. That means that her powers will now become yours, and the next Vampire Staker here in Sangreville, will be you!"


    "Me?"


    "Or you would be, if you weren''t provoking Vampirania!"


    I again heard an echoing twang come from inside the cavern. An arrow struck and cracked through the large cross dangling between my boobs. I felt it crack through my breastbone and stab straight through my heart.

 Chapter 10

    <u>Chapter 10</u>


    My eyes are open. I''m lying on my back out in the open, looking up at a brightening, partly cloudy sky, in which the sun will soon rise. Around me I hear the chirping of crickets joining with the twitter of birds. My mouth feels dry. I take a deep breath, feel an aching throughout my body, and I groan. A sharp pain comes from between my boobs. I groan again.


    Now I remember. Roxanna shot an arrow between my boobs. It cracked my breastbone, and stabbed straight through my heart. I know that''s what happened, and that I''ve been killed.


    I wonder. I''m alive?


    I''m alive. I''m lying on my back on the gravel pathway outside the entrance to the Demons Gateway cavern. This is where Paula and I stood last night. Paula?


    I cry out "Paula!" My distressed shout is loud, but on the vast openness of this mountain side, it feels like I''ve whispered.


    I sit up quickly. The pain from the shallow wound between my boobs becomes agony throughout my entire body. I look at myself. The arrowhead that I''d felt puncture my heart, is now outside my body, imbedded in the large cross, that dangles on the necklace I''d borrowed from Diana. The necklace remains around my neck.


    I take off my ripped open halter top and toss it aside. I see that I''ve got a narrow scratch between my now naked boobs where the arrow stabbed me; a scratch that is bleeding and causing me great agony.


    I groan again and look around. I look where my cousin Paula had lay dead beside me last night. Her body is gone. Her Vamp Staker''s stake is on the ground, along with her flashlight.


    Roxanna. I think, She killed Paula and hid her body; probably somewhere deep inside the cavern where it''ll never be found. Why didn''t she hide me too?


    I remember now, just before my classmate shot the arrow that struck me. She said she was stopping me from being the next Vampire Staker. She said that I might have received Paula''s powers when she died beside me. Is that why I''m now in agonizing pain instead of still comfortably dead?


    What should I do now?


    I know. I have to get back into town, and get back home.


    I start to rise up slowly, and the pain greatly increases. I groan again. Then I sit back down on the gravel.


    Oh why did I have to receive a Vampire Staker''s power? I''d still be a comfortably dead girl if I hadn''t. I won''t be the one who''ll have to deal with all the problems that go along with being a Vampire Staker Vampire.


    The problems? To begin with; How do I get home? Then when I do get home, how do I tell my mother that her niece Paula is dead? How do I tell Aunt Josephine, or Diana or Loretta, Nathan, Mr. Goodbite, or anybody else? Everybody in town''s gonna be asking me questions that I won''t know how to answer. What do I tell them? What''ll I say to reporters?


    Is my picture gonna be on the front page of the Sangreville News, and the local TV News? Maybe even on World News Tonight? I don''t want to have to deal with all that! I don''t want to have to deal with any of that!


    Then after all that, I am going to be the next Vampire Staker, who''s expected to be the Enforcer of the Truce. I haven''t got the slightest idea what to do about that either. Just who do I go to for advice when Paula''s dead?


    Oh why can''t I now be permanently dead like Paula; or like the other sexy Hell Mouth Gals, whose pictures regularly appear in the Sangreville High Weekly News Letter, showing them lying dead with blood on their naked boobs?


    If I was, I wouldn''t have to be the one who''ll have to deal with all these Vampire Staker things! All these Vampire Staker things!


    No! Those are too many things to worry about all at the same time. I''ll just agonize over one thing at a time. The first thing is just getting myself home. After that, if I don''t die along the way, which is a distinct (and right now probable) possibility, I''ll deal with each separate problem as best I can.


    First thing. Paula parked her car on the side of the road, just a few feet from the entrance to the gravel pathway. It''s not all that far. I''m sure I can get up and walk that distance. Can I get inside the car, and did she leave the key in the ignition? Those are two good questions. I''ll see when I get there.


    I again try to rise up, and again the pain is too much. The wound''s started bleeding again. I sit down once more.


    Now I pray, "Okay God. Kill me now. If you want to send me to Hell, I won''t complain."


    I stretch out on my back again, shut my eyes and wait to be the next sexy dead Sangreville High girl, with blood on her naked boobs.


    As I lay here, my hand brushes along my belt and touches the pouch containing my cell phone.


    My cell phone? I forgot it was there!


    I sit up again and groan again. I remove the device from its pouch.


    Who do I call? I wonder. My mother of course. I''ll call her first. What do I tell her? "Hi Mom. Paula''s dead and I''m gonna be late for school."?


    I switch on the device, tap out her number and put the phone to my ear.


    After a few rings I hear her anxious voice. "What''s going on Elaine? Your Aunt Josephine called. She said that Paula didn''t return home last night, and she didn''t receive any calls from her. I haven''t heard from you either."


    I speak calmly. "I''ve got bad news Mom."


    She asks just as calmly, "Just how bad?"


    "To begin with," I tell her, "I think..., I might need..., an ambulance. I''m wounded..., and bleeding. A girl..., named Roxanna..., shot me..., and Paula..., with arrows."


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    "Arrows?" Now she''s totally anxious. "Wounded and bleeding? Ambulance?"


    "And that''s the best of the bad news."


    "If you need an ambulance, tell me exactly where you are."


    "I''m up at..., the Demons Gateway Cavern. I''m on the path..., outside the entrance."


    "Okay. How about your cousin Paula? Does she also need an ambulance?"


    "No. That''s where the bad news..., gets really bad Mom."


    I hear her gasp. Then she says, "I have to hang up to call for the ambulance. Then I''ll call you right back."


    Her phone clicks off. I keep mine on, and hold it at my side.


    I pray again, "Okay God. If you don''t want to send me to Hell today, that''s okay. I''m in no hurry. I can wait."


    I notice Paula''s stake lying on the ground beside me. I reach over and pick it up.


    If I''m going to be the next Vampire Staker, I think, I''ll see to it that Roxanna is the one who goes to Hell first.


    What? I''m seriously thinking about killing Roxanna? Well, I am now a Hell Mouth Gal,


    "immunized by natural evil", and she''s the one who told me that I "...can get away with anything you want, when you''re living on the Hell Mouth."


    Again I feel pain and weakness. I lie down and shut my eyes again, wondering if I''ll be in Hell before the ambulance arrives.


    After a few minutes my cell phone rings again. I decide to save my strength and not sit up. I put the device to my ear.


    "Hi Mom."


    She''s even more distressed. "Oh Elaine. I don''t know how to tell you this, but the ambulance company won''t be sending you help. You see, you''re on the grounds of the Demons Gateway, which is a Place of Worship, Consecrated to Vampirania. Since you''re lying there wounded and bleeding, that means you''re considered a sacrifice to the demon, and must be allowed to die; and the ambulance company won''t violate anyone''s religious practices."


    This time I sob. "Oh!" Now there are tears in my voice. "Good bye Mom."


    She¡¯s also crying. "Good by Elaine. God bless you."


    Then the sound from her phone ceases.


    I return to lying on the consecrated gravel pathway, being a girl who provoked a demon, and now lies dying with blood on my naked boobs. I won''t have to worry about turning in my homework late; and I won''t have to be the next Vampire Staker.


    The pathway I''m lying on is part of those Sacred Grounds, and the pathway is short. It ends where it reaches the road. If I can get myself down to the road, to Paula''s car, I''ll be outside the Consecrated Grounds. Then I''ll be able to call the ambulance company, and they wouldn''t have any hesitation about coming for me. I hope.


    If I can''t get up and walk, I think, I can at least crawl. It isn''t that far. Paula and I walked up here in about a minute. How long will it take me to crawl?


    I roll over, adding a lot of pain. I put my open palms on the rough gravel, push down, and begin moving slowly forward on all fours. What took us one minute last night, now takes me about ten agonizing, moaning and groaning times longer.


    I finally reach the roadside outside the Sacred border of the Demons Gateway. I look in the direction where Paula parked her car.


    The car is gone.


    Now I collapse, rolling onto my back. I lie helpless along the side of the road. I can''t move any further. I can''t move anything. My eyes are shut.


    I hear the sounds of vehicles approaching from both directions. Maybe one of the drivers will stop and give me help. He might even give me a ride to the hospital;


    Or maybe none of them will.


    A car heading into town rushes past me, but doesn''t slow down. Another car drives by, but doesn''t slow down either. Neither does the next car, or the next car. I hear other vehicles across the road headed away from Sangreville. None of them are slowing down either.


    Isn''t anyone going to stop?


    No. Of course not. The drivers see a dead looking, bare breasted girl, lying at the side of the road, just outside a demonic shrine, with blood on her naked boobs. They probably think I''ve been sacrificed to the Vampirana.


    If that''s what they think, they are right. That is what happened. I provoked a demon and so did Paula. Now the demon is appeased.


    Are the drivers respectfully allowing Vampirania''s Worshipers to take care of my remains, whenever those Worshipers show up?


    My remains? I wonder, Am I now "remains"? Am I dead? Can a dead person hear cars driving by? The volume is decreasing.


    Wait! I hear one car slowing down across the road. Now it comes to a full stop.


    A woman calls out, "There she is Jo!" It''s my mother''s voice.


    A few moments later she and someone else are beside me.


    She shouts, "Elaine! Elaine!" Now her voice is tense. "I think she''s dead Jo!"


    "No." My aunt Josephine tells her. "She still has a pulse Beth. We might be able to drive her to the Hospital in time."


    "In time? If the local Ambulance Company acted like they do in any other place, she''d be there now, and doctors would be doing all they can to keep her alive!"


    "I know." My Mom''s sister says, "Everything is different here on the Hell Mouth."


    "The ''Hell Mouth''. ''You can get away with anything you want''. Right. Here in Sangreville, you really can ''Get away with murder''. In this town that''s no figure of speech."


    Now Aunt Jo asks, "Did she say where Paula was, when she called?"


    I hear nothing. I''m not hearing my mother or Aunt Josephine speak. I don''t hear any passing cars. I no longer feel the ground I''m lying on, or the pain in the wound. I suppose that means I''m dead.

 Chapter 11

    Chapter 11


    My eyes are open again. I''m not in Hell and I''m not in Heaven. I''m looking up at my own ceiling, while lying on a comfortable mattress, in my own bed, in my own room. Around me are my own familiar belongings, in our apartment on Sullivan Street, just half way up the block from Main Street, in Sangreville.


    The room is dark. Outside the window it''s also dark, except for the streetlights. The house across the street has its lights on. I hear traffic moving along Main Street. A dog is barking. A car drives along slowly with its headlights on and radio blaring. Kids speed down the street on skateboards, while laughing and shouting. That means it''s now early evening. Everything is just the way anyone would expect; comfortingly normal.


    What is most comforting for me is my knowing that I''m not dead. What''s most discomforting, is wondering why I''m not dead, or in a hospital room.


    My door is shut. I hear my mother speaking, but her words are a soft, distant mumble. The television is on. It''s also mumbling.


    I reach out and switch on the lamp on the night table beside my bed, then push the blanket off of me. All I have on are my panties that I put on yesterday morning. Was that yesterday? I stand up, putting my feet in my comfortable soft slippers; walk over to my vanity table and look in the mirror. As always, my hair is a mess. I also have a very large, flesh colored, antiseptic bandage taped across the narrow wound between my boobs. What I no longer have is pain from the wound or any difficulty moving.


    Wait! Just one single large bandage? How long was I in the Hospital? Was I in the Hospital?


    I now comb my hair, to at least look reasonably neat. I put on a pair of shorts, along with a blouse to hide the bandage. Are my carefree, publicly bare boobie days over, when they''d hardly even begun? That''ll depend on just how bad the scar between them looks, once the bandage is removed.


    I open the door and step out into the hallway. I hear my mother in the kitchen, talking on her cell phone.


    She''s saying, "Elaine''s wound isn''t anywhere near as bad as it looked; hardly more than a scratch. The arrowhead was stuck in the cross dangling on the necklace she borrowed from Diana. That took most of the force, so it didn''t penetrate Elaine''s flesh more than a few centimeters.


    "That''s right Jo. It looks like God really does look after fools, and teenage girls who think that they can, ''get away with anything, while they''re living on a hell-mouth''."


    I step into the kitchen, where my mother''s seated at the table, talking on her cell phone.


    "Mom."


    She looks at me and says into the phone, "She''s up. I''ll call you back. I hope you hear something about Paula soon."


    Then she clicks off the device.


    "I haven''t gotten away with anything," I tell her, "and neither did Paula. If they want to find Paula, they should look inside the Demons Gateway Cavern. There''s a good chance that''s where they''ll find her remains."


    "Her ''remains''?" Mom shudders. "My niece is dead?"


    I nod. "She was standing right next to me, just outside the entrance, when she was shot with an arrow through her boobs. She was shot by one of mine and Diana''s classmates, who''s named Roxanna. Roxanna is one of those people who worship Vampirania. She killed her as an act of sacrifice to Vampirania."


    "Sacrifice?"


    "She was not wearing a cross, or anything that could shield her Mom, so she was killed."


    "But isn''t she already dead, or ''undead''?" She says, "Isn''t your cousin Paula a Vampire?"


    I exclaim, "The arrow''s shaft was a wooden stake driven through her heart! That''s all you need to put an end to any vampire! Totally and for all time! That''s including the heart of Sangreville''s own Vampire Staker Vampire!"


    I sit down at the table.


    Mom says, "I called the Police, and told them what you said; that the person who shot you and Paula was a girl named Roxanna. I got the same answer from them that I got from the Ambulance Company. The killings took place on the grounds of the Demons Gateway, which is a Place of Worship, Consecrated to Vampirania. That means that Roxanna was performing Sacrifices, which are Constitutionally protected religious rituals. They are legal activities for which no one, including your classmate Roxanna, can be prosecuted."


    "Roxanna won''t be arrested for killing Paula, and attempting to kill me?"


    She sighs.


    We say nothing for about a minute or so.


    Then my Mom asks, "Are you hungry? Would you like me to fix you an evening breakfast?"


    I nod.


    "Good. I''ve got some blood in the fridge. Would you like me to warm it up for you?"


    I''m caught totally off guard by that question.


    "What did you say Mom? Blood?"


    "Oh. You haven''t realized it yet."


    "Realized what?"


    "You haven''t yet, come to the realization, that you, my daughter who I love, are now a vampire."


    This statement causes another long moment of silence.


    I ask, "I am?"


    She nods sadly. "You now have fangs."


    "I do?" I lick my tongue along the edges of my teeth. I''m able to extend my fangs, which now stick out from between my lips. "Right. I do."


    "That''s why you were in such agony when Aunt Josephine and I found you. You''re a vampire who was suffering from being out in the daylight."


    I again don''t have any idea what to say.


    My Mom explains. "You died after you were bitten and sucked out by a vampire."


    "No I didn''t." I shake my head. "I fainted, during the fang bang, but just for a few moments. Then I didn''t have fangs after I revived, and I was able to walk around in the daylight."


    "I''m not talking about the fang bang. It happened last night."


    "Last night? Right. Roxanna shot the arrow that struck me, as another sacrifice to the demon. It cracked through the cross I was wearing and stabbed me straight through the heart; so I should still be completely dead like Paula, instead of undead."


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    "I don''t understand it either." She shakes her head. "But whatever the cause, I''m glad my daughter is still alive."


    "Not ''alive''. It''s called ''undead'' Mom."


    "Whatever you call it; God is more powerful than any demon; than any multitude of demons; and He has truly blessed both of us. I will continue to think of you as ''alive''."


    I tell her, "I''m not sure if I''d call it a ''blessing'' Mom. Just before Roxanna shot me, she said that since I was the only one standing beside the Staker Vampire when she died, the next Staker Vampire of Sangreville would be me."


    "You?"


    I nod. "She thought she''d put an end to that by shooting me, and that I''d stay dead; but now that I''m undead, I''m expected be the next one who enforces the Truce. Now here''s one thing that I''m sure about Mom. Being the next Staker is not a job that I want."


    We are both silent again.


    Mom gets up from the table, goes to the refrigerator and takes out a plastic container containing a red liquid. She pours some of the contents into a coffee mug that she places in the microwave oven, and heats it up for 2 minutes.


    Then she takes the mug out, brings it over to the table and places it in front of me.


    "Here you go." She says, "Enjoy your breakfast."


    I look inside the mug, at the warm and nourishing, bright red liquid.


    "Blood?" I ask.


    "I''ve been told it''s not human. I''m not really sure about that, but I''ll take the butcher''s word on it."


    I pick up the mug, put it under my nose and smell the warmed up liquid inside. The aroma is very pleasantly appetizing. I put the mug in my mouth and begin drinking down the very tasty and refreshing meal, while silently counting,


    One thousand one! One thousand two! One thousand three!...


    Mom asks, "Would you like something to eat with that? I mean if that''s any kind of a possibility."


    I look up. "I don''t know if it''s a possibility Mom. I''ll ask around about it. Right now I''ll just stay with this."


    ..., One thousand nine! One thousand ten!


    I''ve finished my liquid blood breakfast.


    "Thank you Mom." I tell her, "I feel very refreshed; a lot more than I expected."


    She smiles, "That''s good to know."


    "And I have a very strong feeling of energy, and my mind is suddenly clear."


    "Why that''s wonderful!"


    My mind is clear. I''m not telling my Mom what I''m thinking about. What I''m thinking about, is what I might do as the next Staker Vampire. I''m thinking that the first vampire, who I might stake, might be Roxanna. Now that I have fangs I might also be the one who bites her.


    No. My mind is clear. Whoever bites her won''t be me; and I won''t be the one who stakes her either.


    I tell my mother, "Now I''d like to go out for a walk."


    She cheers. "That''s my girl!"


    I get up and go to my room. I fix my hair and makeup.


    Now I notice a booklet on the end table beside my bed. It''s a devotional booklet titled "Messages From God to You", which contains Biblical quotations without commentary.


    I now remember what happened when Paula was shot. I dropped the Bible I''d just read from. I don''t remember seeing it beside me when I woke up outside the Cavern. As a not entirely repentant Christian, I''m going to need its guidance.


    Now, for the first time since I''ve arrived here in Vampire Town, I get down on my knees and pray.


    "Lord." I pray, "What do you want me, Elaine Harris to do?"


    Do Godly things. Do Righteous things.


    "Could you narrow that down and be specific?"


    Begin by confessing your sins.


    "Okay. I have committed carnal sins. I have fornicated. I have been drunk. I have...? I''m trying to think of other sins. Oh yes. I''ve behaved shamelessly, and as a result, I am now a vampire with fangs. Do I have to go into detail about every other sin? You know all my sins."


    Are you really being repentant?


    "Whether I am or not, I want to know. What do you want me to do about Roxanna, Vampirania, and all these other evil things that are going on here in Sangreville?"


    I get up off my knees, go over to the end table, pick up the 24 page booklet, flip it open with my index finger and come upon a passage titled, "Love Your Enemies".


    I read:


    "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God''s wrath, for it is written: ''It is mine to avenge; I will repay,'' says the Lord. On the contrary:


    "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21)"


    I shut the booklet, and put it back down on the end table.


    Okay. I think, I''ll stop thinking about biting and staking Roxanna. I should let God handle the vengeance. Is she gonna get a pile of burning coals dumped on her head?


    No! Don''t think that way! Our "...enemy is not flesh and blood." Our enemy is not Roxanna. Our enemy is Vampirania.


    Lord, have mercy on me a sinner.


    I pick up my handbag, come back out of my room and return to the kitchen.


    My Mom tells me, "Instead of you just going for a walk, I think it''d be better for you to head over to the High School. You should re-enroll for night classes, just like your cousin Diana and all the other teenage vampires have done."


    I tell her. "I''ll keep that in mind."


    I step outside, under the clear night sky, and head for Main Street.


    I''ll see if I can find Roxanna. If I do, and she''s hungry or thirsty, I''ll buy her an evening meal. Then I''ll wait to see if God dumps burning coals on her head.


    "Lord, have mercy on me, Elaine Harris, this helpless sinner. In Jesus Name. Amen."

 Chapter 12

    Chapter 12


    In the early evening, as I walk along Sangreville''s Main Street, I am not "...just going for a walk'', and I am not heading over to the High School, at least not yet. I don''t stop at the Bouncing Casket. I head further along, in the direction of the Dark Arts R Us.


    When I reach the Shop, I see a poster displayed in the front window:


    The top line of the poster contains the words:


    "These Three Sacrificed to Appease the Wrath of Vampirania".


    Under these words are three photos in line, of Paula, Diana and myself, with our names posted underneath.


    Beneath the photos are the words;


    "Sacrificed by Roxanna Morgan. The Vampire Staker".


    Roxanna''s photo is posted beside that statement.


    Beneath her photo and the statement, are the words.


    "Now all is well in Sangreville".


    !?????????


    Is Roxanna Morgan, I wonder, the new Vampire Staker instead of me? If it was anyone other than her, I wouldn''t object. It''s not a job I want. But...but she got the job as a reward for committing the murder of my cousin Paula Sheridan, and the attempted murder of me; and she''s getting away with it. Not only getting away, but proudly taking credit for the deed.


    What else should I expect? This is Sangreville.


    Roxanna will replace Paula? Paula was a woman of strong character, who understood right from wrong; and always wanted to do what was right. That''s something you can''t say about Roxanna; who is now in some kind of position of power. Will the life of every citizen of Sangreville be hers to play with? Aren''t things bad enough already?


    I remember reading in the devotional booklet, "Messages From God to You" the quote:


    "The wicked walk on every side when the vilest of men are exalted." (Psalms 12:8)


    I walk up to the window and call out; repeating the words I had originally spoken while standing at this spot, when I''d first provoked the wrath of Vampirania.


    "Get away from us Satan, and stay away from all of us! The Lord rebuke you! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."


    Now I Elaine Harris, cry out again, quoting the Bible; the same words I''d read outside the Cavern entrance.


    "''These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open!''"


    Now I call out the same prayer that I''d begun to pray outside the Cavern.


    "I call upon the Lord to shut and lock the door of this demons'' gateway, and the gateway on the mountainside, along with any and all other demon gateways; so that demons will not be able to attack any more members of our community; and we will all be healed! I ask in Jesus Name! Amen!"


    Now I the "Sacrificed" Elaine Harris, turn away from the Dark Arts R Us Shop, and head for the corner. I''ve decided to head over to Sangreville High, hoping to re-enroll for the night classes, so I can get my life back, as close as possible, to normal.


    As I stand on the corner, waiting for the traffic light to change, I hear a woman call out.


    "Hey! Elaine Harris!"


    I turn in her direction, and see an anxious looking Loretta standing outside the entrance to the Dark Arts R Us Shop, facing me.


    I step away from the corner and head toward her, as she approaches me. We come to about two steps from each other when we halt.


    She points behind her toward the Shop''s window, and speaks with tension.


    "According to that poster, you''re supposed to have been sacrificed."


    "That''s true." I tell her, "I''m no longer alive. I''m undead."


    I extend my fangs. She gasps and takes a step back.


    "It''s okay Loretta. I''m not gonna violate the Truce."


    "That''s good to know." She speaks nervously, "What about your cousin Paula? Is she dead, like that poster says? I don''t mean ''undead''. I mean really dead; totally."


    "I''m sure she is." I tell her, and she gasps. "But I don''t know for certain. I think we should ask Roxanna Morgan about that."


    "Well I think Roxanna''s someone who it''d be better to avoid."


    Now I ask, "Is she the new Vampire Staker?"


    "According to the poster she is; with all the demonic power of Vampirania behind her. So it''s just best for us to stay out of her way."


    "But if we do that, things''ll get even worse." I repeat the words, "¡¯The wicked walk on every side when the vilest of men are exalted.¡¯"


    Loretta looks startled. "You''re a vampire and you''re quoting the Bible? I just saw you standing in front of that poster, and I heard you calling out. You were quoting the Bible and praying in Jesus Name?"


    "That''s right. ''Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.''"


    "But how is that possible? All vampires are under the rule of the Demon Vampirania; eternally enslaved, and incapable of acknowledging any faith in God or resisting the Devil."


    "I''m not." I tell her, "It was the Lord who raised me. Not Vampirania. I still have free will. It''s possible that it might be the same with my cousin Diana and with Nathan too."


    "They''re not eternally enslaved?"


    I tell Loretta, "I''m heading over to the High School, to re-enroll for the night classes. I want to get my life back to normal; or as close to normal as possible. I''ll see just how enslaved anyone enrolled in those classes is, or isn''t."


    "Good idea. That''s where Nathan''s just enrolled."


    I sigh. "Don''t worry Loretta. I''ve decided not to attend any more fang bangs."


    "I don''t know Elaine. Now that you''re a vampire, it might not be possible for you to avoid."


    "Well if I can''t avoid attending, I promise to avoid fang bang banging your boyfriend again."


    I head away from her and go back to the corner. The light is now green, so I cross the street and head on over to Sangreville High.


    As I walk along I wonder. What did I just do? I just prayed the same prayer, with which I''d originally provoked the wrath of Vampirana, in the exact same place where I provoked her. That first prayer led to Diana and Nathan becoming vampires, Paula getting killed, along with me getting almost killed? Almost? Now I''ve prayed it again? How bad are things going to get?


    Should I continue praying to stop Vampirania, I wonder, if doing so will only get the Evil One angry, and lead to more harm for myself along with everyone in Sangreville?


    No. "Resist the Devil and he will flee from you".


    When I reach the High School, the front doors are unlocked and the corridor lights are on. I step inside and find things different.


    Nighttime at Sangreville High, is very different from the daytime. For one thing, the place is quiet. The brightly lit corridors are empty of students and faculty. Every classroom I walk past is locked, dark and unoccupied. So is the Office.


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    No one in the Office? I wonder. How do I enroll for the Night Classes?


    If nobody''s here, why are the front doors unlocked? Are the Custodians at work?


    I call out, "Hello! Is anybody here?"


    My voice echoes along the corridor. I hear no reply.


    I decide to wait, to see if anyone shows up.


    I call out again. "Is anybody here?"


    There is again no reply. I wait about two minutes. There is still no reply.


    I wonder, Are they really holding classes for teenage vampires?


    I shrug and decide to leave. I''ll ask Mom to ask about exactly what''s going on with these supposed night classes for the undead.


    I turn and head for the front door. I put my hand on the push bar, when a teenage boy calls out from the far end of the corridor behind me.


    "Hello? Are you looking to enroll in the night classes?"


    I turn in his direction. I see a boy with dark hair, who¡¯s around my age, hurrying along the corridor in my direction. I stay where I am and wait for him as he hurries over to me.


    When he reaches me he stands still and repeats, "Are you looking to enroll in the night classes?"


    "Yes." I tell him. "I''ve been looking around. The Office is closed and locked, and so are all the classrooms, and all their lights are off. I thought the place was deserted, and there was nobody here."


    "Oh we are here. There just aren''t all that many of us."


    "How many?"


    "Enough to fit in one classroom."


    "Are all of you vampires?"


    He nods and extends his fangs.


    I extend mine. "That''s good to know."


    Then he steps away and beckons. "Follow me."


    I walk beside him, along the brightly lit, quiet, empty corridor.


    "My name''s Jimmy Manetti." He asks, "What''s your name?"


    I tell him, "I¡¯m Elaine Harris."


    He halts. So do I.


    I ask, "Is there a problem?"


    He speaks uneasily. "Are you the cousin of Paula Sheridan, the Vampire Staker?"


    I speak cautiously. "That''s right."


    He lowers his voice. "Nobody knows what''s happened to her."


    I''m not sure what to tell him; what I should or shouldn''t say.


    What I do tell him is, "I think you should ask Roxanna Morgan about that."


    He nods and we continue walking along the silent corridor, neither of us saying anything. We go around a corner and come to classroom 128 where the door is open and the lights are on.


    Jimmy and I enter the room where about two dozen casually dressed guys and girls in their mid teens are seated at the desks. They sit facing a man in his mid thirties, who stands at the blackboard facing them. I don''t recognize him.


    I don''t recognize most the kids in the room either; but some I do. My cousin Diana Sheridan is a member of this class, so is Nathan, and so is Mr. Steven "Goodbite". I''m still not sure what his real last name is.


    As soon as Jimmy and I enter, all the Students and the Teacher stop what they were doing, and turn their attention to me.


    Diana calls out, "Elaine?" She speaks nervously. "What''s happened to Paula? Is she dead? I don''t mean ''undead''. I mean really dead; totally."


    "I''m sure she is." I tell her, and she gasps. "But I don''t know for certain."


    Everyone begins murmuring.


    "The Staker is dead." One girl says, "Sacrificed by Roxanna Morgan, to Vampirania."


    Nathan speaks to me, "And according to Roxanna Morgan, so were you."


    The teacher taps the blackboard with the piece of chalk in his hand. The entire class quiets down.


    He speaks to me with a calm voice. "Can I help you Miss?"


    "I hope so." I tell him, "My name''s Elaine Harris. I''ve come to enroll for night classes. I understand that I am now qualified to attend." I extend my fangs for everyone to see. "But the Office is closed."


    "That''s all right." The man tells me. I see that he also has fangs. "You may address me as Mr. Driscoll. I have the forms here at my desk. You can fill them out here."


    I start to move toward the desk, when Nathan calls out.


    "You''re undead Elaine!"


    I halt.


    He continues. "You weren''t killed at the fang-bang, and you weren''t undead when you and Paula left to go to the Demon''s Gateway. Who bit you?"


    "The only vampire who''s bit me," I point, "has been ''Mr. Goodbite'' there."


    The ''Goodbite'' Boy says, "But that was at the fang-bang, and we were all being very careful. You didn''t die then."


    Nathan says, "and you didn''t die in your sleep like me and your cousin Diana here."


    "I was killed by Roxanna, outside the Demon''s Gateway. She shot me and Paula with arrows through our hearts. That was two nights after I received my first biting. Roxanna told me that since Paula died beside me, it meant I would be the next Vampire Staker. That''s why she shot me, to keep that from happening."


    "But you didn''t stay dead. That means that you''re the one who''s the Vampire Staker. Not Roxanna."


    "I know; but it''s a job I don''t want!"


    ¡±Miss Harris.¡± Now Mr. Driscoll speaks. ¡°If you don¡¯t want that job;¡± He holds up a sheet of printed paper. ¡°Here is the application form for you to fill out, so you can enroll as a student here; if that¡¯s what you want to do.¡±


    I nod, come over to the teacher, and take the application form from his hand. Then I sit down at one of the many empty desks, where I begin to fill it out.


    ¡°Everyone.¡± Mr. Driscoll says, ¡°Please don¡¯t panic. The identity of the next Enforcer of the Truce is not to be decided by Miss Harris, or by Roxanna Morgan. That decision is to be made by the Truce Commission, and then confirmed by the Town Council. From what I can see, it doesn¡¯t look like either of them would be qualified.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡± I tell him, and everyone.


    ¡°Exactly.¡± He tells us, ¡°Every now and then, some of the important things which happen in this town are actually decided by us grown-ups.¡±


    Nathan calls out, ¡°Good!¡±


    Diana and the other vampire kids nod.


    Then I ask the teacher, ¡°Mr. Driscoll, among those grown-ups, are there are least ten righteous men?¡±


    He asks, ¡°Ten righteous?¡±


    ¡°Sangreville¡± I tell them all ¡°is often compared to Sodom and Gomorrah, which God destroyed with fire and brimstone. Now before that happened, according to the Bible, God told Abraham, that if there were ten righteous men in those cities, he would not destroy them.


    ¡°Right now, Sangreville might be in the same situation. If there are not at least ten righteous people in this community, Roxanna Morgan might not be the only one who gets burning coals dumped on her head.¡±

 Chapter 13

    <u>Chapter 13</u>


    Now I¡¯m home.  I¡¯m back in my room.


    So the Grown-Ups of Sangreville are going to be the ones who¡¯ll choose the next Enforcer of the Truce?  That doesn¡¯t mean that the Truce Commission will challenge Roxanna¡¯s claim to be the next Vampire Staker of Sangreville; especially when I¡¯ve made it obvious that I don¡¯t want the job.


    Again I wonder how I will deal with Roxanna?


    ¡°Lord.¡±  I pray again.  ¡°How do you want me to deal with Roxanna Morgan, and even more, how do I deal with Vampirania?¡±


    ¡°Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.¡±


    ¡°Could you please be specific?¡±


    I remember the scripture:  ¡°If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21)"


    ¡°That¡¯s sounds good,¡°  I tell him ¡°but it¡¯s also very scary.¡±


    Look in your booklet, ¡°Messages From God to You¡±.


    I pick up the booklet of Biblical quotations without commentary, and am leafing through it.  Now I¡¯ve come to what I think is the right text.  It¡¯s the same passage that the Pastor read from the Bible on Sunday morning.


    "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil''s schemes.


    "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.


    "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel."


    Then I say, ¡°Lord.  I pray also for me, Elaine Harris; that when I open my mouth, speaking to Roxanna and Vampirana, your words will be given to me, so that I will ¡®fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Fearlessly¡±?  I wonder.  Me?  ¡°Fearlessly¡±?


    ¡°Lord.¡±  I pray.  ¡°Me?  Elaine Harris?  Fearless?¡±


    With God all things are possible.


    ¡°Is it possible for Roxanna to get burning coals dumped on her head, without me getting blamed?¡±


    If she is hungry, all I should do is feed her?  If she¡¯s thirsty, all I should do is give her something to drink?  Then should I just sit back and see what happens?


    Wait a minute.  How am I gonna know if she¡¯s hungry or thirsty?


    When I see her at the Bouncing Casket, I should assume that¡¯s why she¡¯s there.


    Right.  But the time is now 4 AM.  Every business in town, including that high school kids¡¯ hangout is closed.  In a few hours Roxanna¡¯ll be getting up and going to attend daytime classes at Sangreville High, while I¡¯ll be in bed, having a hopefully refreshing vampiric sleep.  Tomorrow night she¡¯ll be at the Casket; the one place I want to avoid most of all.


    ¡°Please Lord.¡±  I ask, ¡°Can you please give the job to somebody else?¡±


    My cell phone rings.  I click it on.


    ¡°Hi Elaine.¡±


    ¡°Good morning Diana.  I¡¯m getting ready for a good day¡¯s sleep.  How about you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still not used to being a vampire yet.¡±


    ¡°Me neither.¡±


    ¡°Listen Elaine.  Nathan and I were talking.  We¡¯ve decided that since you don¡¯t want the job of being the next Vampire Staker, then he and I¡¯ll do what we can.¡±


    Thank you Lord!


    I ask, ¡°You and Nathan?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.  Roxanna told you that you would be the next Staker.  That means that the girl hasn¡¯t got the slightest idea of what she¡¯s talking about.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.  That thought has crossed my mind.¡±


    ¡°But I am the sister of the Vampire Staker.  I know how to handle the job.¡±


    ¡°You do?  Have you staked any vampires before?¡±


    ¡°Paula taught me how to defend myself, and there are a few stakes on the top shelf in her closet.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯re the one who should be the Staker.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.  Tomorrow night, before School starts, Nathan and I are gonna make sure that Roxanna will never have the job.  Do you want to come along?¡±

 Chapter 14

    <u>Chapter 14</u>


    It¡¯s now the following evening, about a half hour after sunset. Nathan drives up to my house in his car, with Diana beside him in the front seat. I get in the back and we drive off toward Main Street.


    Less than ten minutes later, I step inside the Bouncing Casket. Diana and Nathan remain outside. Most of the patrons are my living former classmates, who still attend Sangreville High in the daytime. Loretta is among them. Undead members of the nighttime classes are also here. Jimmy Manetti is among them, and so is Mr. Goodbite.


    I¡¯m dressed in a zipped open jacket over a light blouse, full length slacks, and flat soled shoes. I carry a clear plastic bag in my right hand, and the arrow I¡¯d been shot with in my left. All my classmates, both former and present, along with members of the Casket¡¯s staff, look startled and deeply troubled, at what the plastic bag contains. Roxanna Morgan does not; but she hasn''t noticed me yet.


    I approach Roxanna, who¡¯s seated alone at the same table where I spoke to her on Monday night.


    Was that Monday? It seems so long ago; but it¡¯s such a short time.


    She has what looks like root beer in a glass in front of her, with a straw sticking out. She¡¯s nonchalantly tapping on an app, which has her full attention. She doesn¡¯t notice me, or what¡¯s in the plastic bag, until I come right up to the table, stopping directly across from her.


    I speak. ¡°Good evening Roxanna.¡±


    She looks up from her app, and is startled. She begins trembling.


    She asks, ¡°You¡¯re alive?¡±


    ¡°No Miss Morgan.¡± I extend my fangs. ¡°I¡¯m undead.


    ¡°I am undead.¡± I repeat. ¡°But my older cousin Paula is not, any longer.¡±


    I now place the clear plastic bag, which contains the decapitated head of my cousin Paula Sheridan, the Staker Vampire of Sangreville, on the table in front Miss Roxanna Morgan. Miss Roxana Morgan, the hostess of the fang bang we¡¯d all attended on Saturday night, now trembles even more.


    I speak, ¡°Her head was found today, deep inside the Demon¡¯s Gateway Cavern. The rest of her was nearby. The arrow you shot her with was still sticking out of her boobs.¡±


    Roxanna anxiously looks around, at all the patrons and staff; who are keeping a very safe distance from us.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t me.¡± Roxanna¡¯s voice trembles. ¡°I¡¯m not the one who shot her, or you.¡±


    ¡°I heard your voice!¡±


    ¡°But I wasn¡¯t alone. There were other people beside me.¡±


    ¡°That still makes you an accomplice to the murder of Paula Sheridan and the attempted murder of me, Elaine Harris!¡±


    ¡°No it doesn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t murder.¡± Now the girl speaks calmly. ¡°It was a pair of human sacrifices, performed on the grounds of a Place of Worship, Consecrated to Vampirania. That makes the act a Constitutionally protected religious ritual. That is a legal activity for which no one, including me, your former classmate Roxanna Morgan, can be prosecuted."


    I hear Loretta call out, from a safe distance. ¡°¡¯You can get away with anything you want when you¡¯re living on a hellmouth¡¯ Elaine!¡±


    I turn toward her. ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten away with anything Loretta!¡± I display my fangs. ¡°And neither will she!¡± I point to Roxanna.


    ¡°Be careful Miss Harris.¡± Roxanna speaks calmly.


    I return my attention to her.


    She says, ¡°You don¡¯t want to stir up the wrath of Vampirania again, do you? You are now a vampire, and you are now one of hers.¡±


    ¡°No I am not! I am a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and only Him shall I serve!¡±


    Now Roxanna is startled. ¡°You are? That¡¯s not possible!¡±


    I say, ¡°¡¯With God all things are possible¡¯. I¡¯ve prayed to the Lord about you Roxanna, and I received an answer. He said, ¡®Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.¡¯¡±


    She sneers. ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m fleeing from you Elaine Harris.¡± She points at the plastic bag on the table, containing Paula¡¯s head. ¡°Or from that really gross piece of rotting flesh.¡±


    I tell her, ¡°The Lord also told me, ¡®It is mine to avenge; I will repay,'' says the Lord. On the contrary:


    "¡¯If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.¡¯


    ¡°That¡¯s from the Bible.¡± I add. ¡°Romans 12.¡±


    ¡°Yeah right.¡± She laughs. ¡°Like you¡¯re gonna dump burning coals on my head?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not. I won¡¯t lay a hand on you. All I have to do is feed you, or give you something to drink. Then God will do the rest.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    She looks skeptical. ¡°You don¡¯t really believe that, do you?¡±


    Now I lift up the arrow in my left hand, with its head still stuck in the cross I¡¯d been wearing when I was shot.


    ¡°Do you recognize this cross Roxanna? I was wearing it when you shot me. This arrow of yours cracked through this cross, then went through my breastbone and punctured my heart. I was dead and on my way to Hell.¡±


    I hear the other patrons murmuring.


    ¡°But God had mercy on me. I woke up in the morning, and this arrow was no longer inside me. Its head was inside the cross, like it is now.¡±


    Now Loretta calls out. ¡°Oh come on Elaine! Do you expect anyone to believe that crap?¡±


    ¡°She does!¡± I point to Roxanna. ¡°She was there.¡± I ask Roxanna, ¡°You saw me lying dead, with this stuck straight between my boobs, all the way into my heart. Didn¡¯t you?¡±


    She nods. ¡°That¡¯s just what I saw.¡± She looks at Loretta. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why she¡¯s no longer as totally dead as her cousin Paula.¡±


    I speak to everyone. ¡°God Himself has shown me His mercy. Whatever I ask for in His Name, I will surely receive. I ask not to be overcome with evil, but that I will overcome evil with good.¡±


    I point to the glass on the table in front of Roxanna, ¡°I think I¡¯d like to pay for that root beer you¡¯re having. Then we¡¯ll see what happens.¡±


    Loretta calls out, still standing at a safe distance. ¡°I¡¯d like to see that myself!¡±


    Roxanna now smacks her open hands down on the table. ¡°Oh forget it!¡±


    She jumps up out of the seat, and glares at me. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of this!¡±


    She turns and stamps angrily away from us shouting. ¡°You¡¯re the ones who ought to get burning coals dumped on all your heads!¡±


    Then she goes out the door.


    Miss Roxanna Morgan is gone from the Bouncing Casket. Everything is now a lot calmer inside the teen hangout, as it usually is on weekday nights.


    I repeat, ¡°¡¯Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.¡¯¡±


    I go over to the cashier, and pay for Roxanna¡¯s partly consumed glass of root beer.


    I wait about five minutes. Then I step outside, through the same doorway as Roxanna, into the mild evening air, under a clear starry sky.


    To my left I hear a woman groaning. I turn to see what¡¯s going on.


    About halfway between the entrance to the Bouncing Casket and the street corner, Roxanna is gripped tight in Nathan¡¯s arms. He has his mouth against her throat, and chomping his fangs deep into her neck, gulping down her blood.


    Diana stands beside them, holding a sharpened wooden stake, that she¡¯d found on the top shelf of the closet in her sister Paula¡¯s room.


    Roxanna makes a final sigh. Nathan lets go of her and she collapses to the sidewalk, where she lays on her side lifeless, with a pair of bite marks in her neck.


    I walk up to him and Diana. He looks angry. So does Diana.


    I ask, ¡°This wasn¡¯t a fang-bang biting, was it Nathan? You didn¡¯t stop when you reached a measured count of one thousand ten, did you?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± He growls. ¡°The one who murdered our Enforcer of the Truce is now dead!¡±


    A glaring Diana kneels beside Roxanna and rolls her body over onto her back. She rips the front of the dead girl¡¯s blouse open, exposing her boobs. Then she raises the sharpened stake saying,


    ¡°I¡¯m making sure she stays that way!¡±


    Now she rams the stake down hard, straight between Roxanna¡¯s boobs, into her heart. Then she pulls the sharpened weapon out, and stands up, with blood dripping from the stake.


    ¡°My sister¡¯s killer will never come back from Hell.¡±


    I say, ¡°Where burning coals are being dumped on more than her head?¡±


    ¡°Diana!¡± Loretta calls out behind us.


    She and most of our living and undead classmates who¡¯d been inside the Bouncing Casket, have now come outside. They stand a safe distance away from the three of us.


    Loretta asks, ¡°Are you the new Enforcer of the Truce?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± Diana tells them all. ¡°If I am, I can¡¯t do it all on my own. I¡¯m gonna need a lot of people¡¯s help. Both living and undead.¡±


    Nathan says, ¡°You know you¡¯ve got mine.¡±


    Loretta tells her, ¡°And mine.¡±


    Mr. Goodbite says, ¡°Me too.¡±


    Jimmy Manetti adds, ¡°And mine.¡±


    Now my cousin looks at me, ¡°How about you Elaine?¡±


    I hesitate. I¡¯ve said I don¡¯t want the job, ¡®cause I wouldn¡¯t know what I was doing. I can¡¯t tell people that now.


    Diana tells me, ¡°You say God brought you back to life. I¡¯m sure that means that He¡¯s gonna give you all the ability you need, to accomplish anything you want from now on.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± I nod. ¡°As long as the work of enforcing the Truce is shared, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Of course, we¡¯ll have to speak to the Truce Commission and the Town Council, to get their Official Backing. That shouldn¡¯t be any problem either. Let¡¯s talk to Mr. Driscoll. He¡¯ll let them know what we¡¯ve decided.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Driscoll?¡± Now Nathan says ¡°Right.¡±


    He calls out, ¡°Hey! Everyone here who¡¯s an undead student! Let¡¯s not be late for class!¡±


    All my vampire classmates nod and begin hurrying off in the direction of Sangreville High. Diana, Nathan and I get in his car. Loretta waves good-bye as we drive off. We leave Roxanna lying totally dead and ignored on the sidewalk; another dead Hellmouth girl, with blood on her naked boobies, and a deep gory gash between them.


    We spend the rest of the night attending Mr. Driscoll¡¯s class at Sangreville High.


    Now it¡¯s morning. I¡¯m home. I¡¯ve been home for hours. The day has begun. Everything outside the kitchen window is getting brighter. This day the sky will be clear and sunny. But I won¡¯t be going outside into the sunshine this day; or any day after this, from now on.


    My Mom has gotten up and we¡¯re having breakfast at the kitchen table. At least she is having breakfast.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already eaten.¡± I tell her. ¡°It was the pig¡¯s blood that you provided for me. Thank you, Mom.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome Elaine.¡±


    I tell her, ¡°Some important decisions have been made. I, Elaine Harris won¡¯t be the new Staker Vampire of Sangreville.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. You said you didn¡¯t want to be.¡±


    ¡°My cousin Diana Sheridan has taken the job. That¡¯s the right choice. She knows what she¡¯s doing. I wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    Mom nods. ¡°She is a good choice.¡±


    ¡°But I will be one of the people who assist her in enforcing the Truce. I don¡¯t know how good I¡¯ll be at that.¡±


    Mom smiles nervously. ¡°At least it¡¯ll give you something useful to do.¡± She chuckles, also nervously. ¡°Keep you out of trouble.¡±


    ¡°Maybe; or it might get me into more trouble than I can imagine.¡±


    She stops smiling. ¡°I think you¡¯ve had enough of that, haven¡¯t you? Maybe you should stay away.¡±


    ¡°Mom.¡± I say, ¡°From now on, the words ¡®You can get away with murder¡¯ won¡¯t be more than just a figure of speech here in Sangreville anymore.¡±


    She asks, ¡°You heard me say that? You were conscious?¡±


    I nod. ¡°From now on; the Truce Enforcement Squad will do more than just monitor fang bangs. When it¡¯s necessary, we will also be this Town¡¯s Vigilante Squad.¡±


    ¡°Vigilantes? Vampire vigilantes?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s ¡®Staker Vampire Vigilantes¡¯. No one will ¡®get away with murder¡¯ anymore Mom. Last night, Roxanna Morgan didn¡¯t. Me, Diana and Nathan saw to it. After this, there will be a lot fewer kids having ¡®accidents¡¯ at fang bangs.¡±


    Mom asks, ¡°Is it the blood of Roxanna Morgan¡¯s that you¡¯ve ¡®already had¡¯ for breakfast?¡±


    ¡°No. I resist the devil and he flees from me.¡±


    We are quiet for a while. Then I speak.


    ¡°Listen Mom.¡± I tell her, ¡°I have accepted Christ as my Savior, so all my sins are forgiven, and I have no guilt before the Lord. His undeserved, total forgiveness is extended to all sinners, who accept Christ as Savior; including me."


    ¡°Amen.¡± She says, ¡°¡¯The scandal of God¡¯s Grace.¡¯ Praise the Lord.¡±


    <u>END OF STORY</u>