9. Stupid Girl

Juliet

Going into the building and leaving Louis in the alley was a gutsy idea. What did I know about spying on anyone? Or how would I find them in that maze of a motel building? There was no point wandering around or waiting for doors to open, so I could maybe see Mr. Tailored and the bag.

“The bag!” I had to listen for the cub… It would eventually yelp again or whimper. There were a lot of floors to cover. I knew my parents were waiting. They would get worried and come looking soon.

As I walked through the narrow halls of the first floor. It wasn’t hard hearing everything going on in every room. The walls were that thin. I heard things I shouldn’t have or wanted to. The door to the stairs was right in front of me, and I took them quickly. I was going to have to clear each level one by one. The carpet was worn in places. I felt lucky that I couldn’t smell anything. All I could do was listen. Eventually, I heard a faint little cry from the pup. The sounds got louder and louder. The cry was weak but desperate. I came back and pressed my ear to the door. Footsteps came closer, and I vanished. Mr. Tailored came out of a room. His back was to me, and he kissed the girl one last time. She was naked and sending him off… I followed him down the hall.

My gift was strange. I could hold on to things and make them invisible as well. When I went back and forth, everything just went with me. Able to disappear but not allowed to touch the outside world was frustrating. Couldn’t even impersonate a ghost. I stared at the bag. I could easily save the baby... If I could only get my hands on it. The guy’s fingers clutched that handle tightly.

I wondered what Chris would have said if he knew he’d been invisible for a few seconds that morning. When I had held his hand… I smiled, remembering him fumbling around like that. Chris was cute, caring… and… I didn’t have anything else yet. Comparing him to Louis was like soft grass swaying in the wind to a cold rock.

Mr. Tailored opened the door to the stairs and walked through it. I could luckily sneak through and follow him as he went along. Most of the doors were self-closing, making a lot of creaking sounds. That place was probably an old hotel that had seen better days. We entered a service elevator, and he pressed the basement button to take us down. The doors slid open, revealing a very dark parking lot. Broken lights were flickering, making me immediately nervous. It was damp and filthy. He was moving quickly over the lot and took out a key to a parked car. My breath quickened as he stretched out a hand, and the car's lights blinked twice. I had one chance to get in. If I didn’t, the man would drive off with the pup. No! He kidnapped someone’s child. A baby. Werewolf babies couldn’t control transforming. It was in pup form at that moment, but it would eventually change back to human.

He opened the door. I thought about Louis and my parents. It really was life or death and had nothing to do with responsibility. Louis had chosen to help me and left the cub with the guy in the motel. He hadn’t told me why… Or if he knew what was going on. So, I had to draw my own conclusions and made a split decision… I got in the car. I would worry about the consequences later.

***

We drove for about half an hour… I carefully took note of what roads we were on and what direction we were going. It seemed just further out of the city but not towards home. Consequences quickly came a-knocking when we left the main road to take a small dirt one... It was dark, and he made a few turns… It made me lose all sense of direction. I swallowed as I thought about what was to come. I would have to steal the car. But how would I get us out of there after?

Eventually, he took a driveway that led onto an estate. The house was a beautiful red-bricked building. Colored shutters framed the windows. Lots of garden lights in the park surrounding the place. He only killed the ignition when the garage door behind us shut with a “clang.” I was completely confused about what was going on. Who was the guy, and who was the pup?

Opening the driver’s side door, he got out, shutting it again. For that split second, I went in behind the seat and dropped my phone on the ground. When he opened the back door reaching over me to take out the bag, I was invisible again. I climbed out quickly, standing very close to the doors so I could pass through with him as we moved into the house from the garage.

Mr. Tailored put the bag on the kitchen counter and pressed a button on a remote. Clattering noises surrounded us, and all the windows were being covered by steel shutters. I swallowed down the lump forming in my throat. The guy was utterly hidden away there. No one would be able to get in… or out. It complicated things. “Stupid, stupid, Juliet.”

***

My eyes were heavy. I wouldn’t have been able to see anything, even if they were open. Bile was stuck in my throat. My head was spinning. It felt like I had done a lot of drugs. I couldn’t move. I was lying on a cold floor. I heard it again… An earnest cry from a cub being hurt. My heart constricted at the sound. The yelp was piercing. I remembered what had happened. I had followed Mr. Tailored down some stairs into a basement. Yet another door closed behind us. Another secret room with an automated lock on the door. It was the worst feeling, being that scared. I was focused and waiting for him to be away far enough so that I could grab the cub… All my hope drifted off to sea when he tied the little guy down. I felt terrible. I should have done something. Took the bag and sat in the back of the car till my parents came to get us.

The rest of the room was dark… Mr. Tailored put a drip on him, pumping him full of something yellow. It took a minute, and he had lit a joint behind my back. Before I could decide what I wanted to do, I was out. The cries continued for some time before I could speak. “Stop! Please.” I croaked out. There was a ruckus and swearing. Whoever was in the room seemed to have bumped over something. He didn’t know I was there. Metal objects fell on the floor. Glass broke and shattered next to me.

“What the f-… Who are you? Where did you come from?”

I couldn’t answer. I drifted in and out of consciousness. I felt him putting his hands under my armpits, picking me up like I was a feather. My head drooped, and my lips sagged.

“You are a pretty thing.” I could smell his breath. He sniffed me, pressing his nose into my hair and the crook of my neck. For the first time, I was terrified. It seemed like I wouldn’t be the night’s hero after all. Out of breath, I tried to speak. “Please… stop… hurting him.” I drifted away again. He held me up with one hand. Slapped me softly on the cheek with the other. It startled me, and I could focus on the face for a moment. My vision was slowly coming back.

Another yelp of pain from behind his shoulder drew my attention away from him. I was scared that the little guy wasn’t going to make it. Surgical blades were lying on the floor. A jellied liquid that must have messed when the glass container had fallen. The pup was still alive, breathing and moving slightly. He put me down. I slumped flat on the floor, unable to stand or sit. My eyes met the roof and traveled over the room. A moan escaped me as I saw all the jars lining his walls. Stacked on shelves. Disgusted and sickened, tears fell down my temples. A big steel refrigerator door covered the middle of the back wall. I knew what my fate was. A freezer. The little guy… a bottle. I looked up at the table above my head. Mr. Tailored had started cleaning the floor.

“Why?”

The guy came to crouch in front of me. He sat with his elbows on his knees, staring at me. His eyes going from me to the table, he frowned. “I have been doing this for so long. The smells and the cries don’t affect me anymore. Anesthetics just leaves a trail, you know.”

Another tear rolled down the side of my face. “Can you please use it this time?”

He got up and regarded me for a while. He shrugged and walked over to a cupboard. He paused, hands on the handles. “You know I thought about indulging you, but you will soon have to go through everything he is… And the thing is, I only have one vial left.”

Fear wanted to take hold. I would suffer. All the same, the baby on the slab consumed my mind and had to come first.

“I will let you choose. You can go through a painless experiment. Or… I can give it to him… But, let me tell you! He will die either way. You might live… You’re a bit stronger.”

Louis’s face flashed before my eyes, his manifested features. The dominance he had over me. I wondered if he would find me. Or only parts of me. My voice croaked, “Give it to him.”

“As you wish… I will have to hurry up before you disappear again. You born vampires are weak. Being infected like me is much better. Stupid girl, you should have known I was smoking weed.” I did know. There was just nothing I could do about it.

***

Louis

In the Motel

The prostitute closed the door behind me. I had no smell of Juliet in her vanished state. So I wouldn’t even know if she was in there with us. She could be staring at me right at that moment… I didn’t like the idea and tossed the girl a shirt.

“Put it on!” She didn’t and came closer again. I could smell the guy I was following earlier. He had been in there just moments ago. The room was small, with no windows and weird lighting that made the place look yellow and pink.

“When did your client leave?” I asked, clipped. I pushed her off me, and she landed on the bed.

She looked up at me. Resigned, she pulled the top over her head. “Just now… You just missed him.

“Where did he go? He didn’t go down the stairs or out the front door. I would’ve seen him.”

“I don’t know. He comes.” She smirked. “He pays and leaves. He’s a regular once a week… Why are you so interested in this guy?”

“What’s in the bag?” She flinched. Her eyes fell guiltily to the ground.

“Asked once, never asked again about the bag.” She pouted her lips, thinking... “He’s a little weird.”

“What do you mean?” She stood up and walked over to her purse. She lit a cigarette. She held out the packet to me.

I hit her hand away, irritated. “Get to the point.

“He’s not like the regular johns. He has a short fuse. No talking. Five minutes tops… Small quirks.”

“What else?”

“The pimps leave him alone. He can come and go as he pleases. Did nothing when he slapped me around... They just laughed at me and said I deserved it.”

“A bag every week?” She shook her head and took a drag of the cigarette. She was jittery, checking the time every now and again. Someone knocked at the door.

“Lucile! Your next guy is here. Two rooms down.”

“I got to go, don’t let him catch you here. He will think that I’m cashing in on the side.”

Stupid girl. I thought. What else were you doing when you dragged me in there?

“One more question. What is that smell?”

She looked confused. “Oh, that… He likes to smoke weed. A lot!” I cussed and got nervous.

It confused her. “What’s the problem with him smoking?”

“Vampires are allergic to weed. One sniff knocks one out for hours.” At first, she tried to figure out if I was serious. Her laughter was a sure sign she didn’t think I was. I walked across the room while Lucile took the last drag of her cigarette.

I opened the door roughly. The pimp on the other side almost fell into the room. He was big and worked out. I picked him up with one hand and shoved him against the wall.

“Lucile here knows nothing of her previous client. I thought you might know more.”

“Jacko.” Lucile helped, squashing her bud in the glass ashtray.

Jacko panicked and tried his luck a few times to show me who was really in charge. He quickly stopped when he got the wind knocked out of him the second time. I wanted to hurt him, but not enough so he couldn’t spill.

“Above my pay grade.” He tried saying. Wheezing out the words.

I cussed a few times. Ones I hadn’t said out loud in a while. Immediately reminded of Samuel, telling me to watch my tongue. Thinking that Juliet could be there made me shut up, pressing my lips together. I was going to have to try harder. This was going to change me. Juliet would be a challenge.

“Who?”

“Higher up. My boss.” He was reluctant to continue. I kicked his knee from the side. The “crunch” sound made Lucile scream. She ran out the door. At that point, I couldn’t keep killing people. I couldn’t keep wasting time. I let her go and threw Jacko onto the bed, writhing in pain.

“Get some help. I have a meeting.”

“You’ll never get past the army outside waiting on the boss.” I shook my head and walked out. Humans didn’t seem to know anything.

***

I left the room determined to find Juliet. My phone rang for the millionth time. It was Liam... the father. I paused for a second, staring at the screen. I didn’t know what to say to them. They had to be out of their minds. They knew the pickup had happened. So technically, we should just get in the car and go back. They had trusted me with their daughter. She had disappeared on me and was gone.

For the first time in hundreds of years, I had someone to take care of. After my parents, I vowed no connections. Juliet had changed that. I had to be a man. I had to find her. My emotions were getting the better of me. I was scared and in a moment of weakness… I thought that something might be terribly wrong. That I would be too late. I was hoping she wasn’t just being a brat. These people had expectations of me. They had to be met, or I would lose out on the best opportunity I would ever have. I didn’t know them. They didn’t know me. Juliet’s face flashed before me. Staring at me in the car, our eyes boring into each other. The tension was there and the attraction.

***

A Few Months Ago

I had driven north and entered an estate via a long winding road lined with trees. It was fall. The place was always beautiful but breathtaking with the orange-colored trees. Being the oldest living vampire had its advantages. Driving up to the massive stone house was one of the trip’s highlights. But every time I came, Samuel had some or other scheme to pitch to me. I knew he did it just to check in. So, I didn’t mind indulging the guy. He was the closest thing I had to family.

I had never thought about a mate or settling down because I couldn’t find one. No one held any appeal for me, human nor vampire. In my two hundred and twenty years… There had been no one. Samuel always had someone to put down as a suggestion. I had never lived on the compound… My parents and I lived in France until they died. After that, I never left.

***

Samuel ushered for me to sit. He sat down on a chair across from me, asking me all the polite questions he was supposed to. When those were done, he got down to why he really asked me to come. I snickered… He really was predictable.

“There is a family… The Farrows. They live in some small, obscure little town down south.”

I didn’t know where his story was going, but all I had was time. So, I listened with interest. Glad that he didn’t take out a photo of his next idea of a mate for me.

“The daughter… Juliet… Her parents contacted me about the registry. They are searching for possible mates for her.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “No!” I blurted out. I had enough respect for him not to get up and walk out the door so I stayed put. Samuel didn’t immediately bombard me with a lecture. Or tried to convince me in the conventional way an elder would… Old people had a point where they started giving that lecture… The “It’s time to get married speech.”

Instead, he stared at me for a good while. Regarding me… he was changing tactics, and I was curious about what he would come up with. How was he going to convince me to go on a blind date?

“Do you know about hybrids?” That caught me off guard. Totally off-topic! I was glad he had dropped the matchmaking. Intrigued, I nodded. “I have... But isn’t it just a myth?”

He chuckled. “So they say, but I’m almost sure there is one among us. I heard via my moles of the few remaining werewolf tribes that are left… They are looking for him... Wanting to plant a mate with it to see if a union with a hybrid could bring about a cub.” Stunned, I kept listening, sipping my whiskey.

“What has the hybrid got to do with this, Juliet? Or the Farrows?”

“The thing is Louis,” He said, standing up, walking over to a decanter, filling my glass. “Her parents have detected a werewolf. A teacher in the girl’s school. Married… to a human.”

I paused, frowning. “The hybrid?”

He nodded. “That’s the word around town, yes.”

“What about the infected vampires? Are they not also searching for this guy?” Samuel sighed and nodded. “That is a problem for another day.”

“So, what do you want from me?”

“The parents had hoped to introduce the girl to more vampires to see if she could not find a husband, and soon. They fear that the girl’s human relationships will somehow create a problem… Later in her life. And, soon, that werewolf will realize she is not the only creature in that small town… If she hasn’t already. Afraid for their child with so many obstacles… Can you understand that?”

“Yes, but they could move. You could plant a sleeper cell there. Why go this route. Dragging me here?”

He sat staring at me again. “It’s… my brothers’ child.”

I choked on the strong liquor. Samuel handed me a napkin. I put the glass down and wiped my mouth.

“I don’t know a lot of guys that are good enough for my niece. And of course, no one knows who she is… That must stay that way! She would be targeted and get taken.” He shook his head. “I cannot even think about that.”

Frustrated, I scratched my scalp with the points of my finger. “So, because the groom pool is low, you’re asking me?”

“It’s not low, Louis. It’s you… I don’t want to wait for another hundred years to see if there might be one man in the compound that could be brought around... To give her the life she deserves… When things went wrong there, I pulled them out fast.”

I could see he was avoiding something, but I didn’t want to pry. I knew he had no “pull” on the compound.

“I heard about something big happening a few years back... Care to share what really went down?”

“That is also a story for another day,” he said hurriedly. Trying to stay on topic. “So, Louis! I am asking you as a friend. Go and meet this guy. Check out which werewolves are so conveniently situated close to my niece and….”

“And in the meantime, see if I do not want to jump your niece…?”

Livid, he smashed the glass he held, cutting himself and messing the liquid all over the floor.

I put my hands up, jumping to help him… “Too long out of the company of people… Let alone women Samuel… I apologize. That was uncalled for… You know I don’t have anyone to keep me in line… I might not be the right guy for what you’re planning.”

He had a bout of laughter. I was confused… “You have not met Juliet… All you need is a….” He chuckled… “A good woman… to restore your faith… It’s not just her. I don’t want to see you so unhappy. When your parents died….”

I spun away from him. “You’ve told me a million times before! Not again, please!”

Resigned, he said, “Okay… Not again… In the meantime… Really consider my niece as your... wife.” He stared me down until I conceded. I sighed and shook his hand.

“My brother already set up a cover and got a house ready next to theirs. We took the liberty to get you a job at the school. Report the day before so you can get settled.

I turned on my heels away from him. Shocked, I cussed. Didn’t like people managing my life.

“Come now, Louis! You can’t use that kind of language in front of my family… And… If you are not a hundred percent sure you will never leave her side again… Don’t touch her….”

“You are putting a lot of faith on a two-hundred-year-old relationship Samuel.”

He chuckled and handed me another drink. “Like I said. You haven’t met my Juliet yet.”

***

But I had touched her. Tried to kiss her the first day we met. Guiltily I answered the phone. “Liam. Juliet is gone… She disappeared on me. I’m looking for her. She came into the motel. I have been running around, but she’s not showing herself.”

The other side of the line was quiet.