Cold Open.

“Does anyone know where my jacket and neck corset are? I’m late already as it is!” Miranda shouted up the stairs to her three children.

“Noooo!” they shouted back in unison from their rooms.

Miranda huffed and threw open the cupboard under the stairs again to see if they were in there this time. Flicking through the other coats and jackets hung up, she ignored the ones that fell on the floor.

“Honey, could they be in the car?” her husband asked calmly, coming from the kitchen.

She thought for a moment. “Probably. Yes, they have to be,” she conceded.

“Right, well go then. It’s gone dark now and your team will already be out by now, right? I’d hate for Blanche to dismiss you.”

“Yes, ok. I’m going. Lock up behin-”

“-Behind you… yes. I know what to do. Just go.”

Miranda gave her husband a kiss on the cheek and hurried out of the door. She volunteered with the Georgia Green Division of Tarmsworth St Jude’s Nasscies and she had a chronic time keeping issue. And tonight was no different.

Miranda opened the back seat doors and sure enough, found them both in the footwells of the passenger seats. Fucking idiot, I cudda sworn I bought them in with me, she chided herself. I’ll put them on when I get there, I just need to get there first.

She pulled out of her drive and continued down the sleepy street, past all the fifties built houses and began to slow down for the zebra crossing. A woman was stood waiting to cross.

“Hurry the fuck up will you, bint!” she shouted to herself in the car.

The woman began to cross but started to approach the front of the car, zig zagging as she moved. Drunk bitch, I don’t have time for this now!

The woman landed on the car’s bonnet, rolling on her back and sliding down in a heap on the floor. Miranda jumped out of the car and despite her anger, she was cautious of it being night time and she was on her own. “Get out of the road for fucks sake!”

“Help,” the woman said, pulling her hood down, revealing her face… and her grey complexion.

“Oh fuck off,” Miranda said exasperated. “I do not have time for this.”

The female vampura picked herself up off the floor, using the car’s bonnet for leverage. “Help me, I need help.”

Miranda instinctively reached down on her belt but there was nothing there. Shit! “I’ll help you get out of my way!”

“No, I need blood, I’m dehaemodrating, I’m dying!” she gasped.

“You’re a vampura, you’re dead anyway!”

The vampura grabbed out and Miranda pushed her back, falling onto the car bonnet. “Don’t you know the meta now? It’s animal blood nowadays.”

“Animals? I’m a fucking vegetarian,” the vampura shouted desperately.

“Go fuck yourself,” Miranda spat, heading back to her car door and opening it. Incensed, and determined to feed, the vampura got up and followed Miranda round, grabbing her by the hair as her back was to her.

“I’m dying!” the vampura shrieked, slamming Miranda’s head into the door frame and spinning her round to face her.

Miranda tried to break free and squeeze back into her car through the open car door. “Leave me alone!” she screamed, desperately fighting for her life.

The vampura lunged for Miranda’s neck and scraped her teeth feebly against it.

“Ouch, oh my God!” Miranda panicked, pushing away. She managed to sink her body weight into the seat of the car, her legs still outside of the car. The vampura followed her in, forcing Miranda to fall back along the front seats. The handbrake dislodged, and the car started to roll forward. The vampura, on top of Miranda, now aroused and hungry for the blood she had managed to illicit from her first bite attempt went for another attempt, pushing down onto Miranda.

The car rolled over the zebra crossing and crawled down the road.

Miranda struggled and pushed, squirming for her life.

The vampura was desperate, on her last legs with no blood. Torn between her principles of not drinking from animals and not wanting to drink from the foul tasting humans but ultimately needing this.

And the vampura won.

Miranda made a mistake of easing the force she was exerting up on the vampura to keep her away, and the vampura took advantage. Took the opportunity. And took Miranda’s neck and the blood that poured from it as her teeth sunk in.

As Miranda’s life ebbed away, the vampura came up for air, and despite feeling nourished, the taste was too much. She threw up all over Miranda’s lifeless body, covering her in beetroot red bile.

“Disgusting,” garbled the vampura getting up. But I will build up my strength… to avenge Tallon.

Chapter Fifteen.

“So pairings for tonight and we can get out there. Henry, I’ve got you with Zoe tonight, Nadheera with Lana, Callum and David together. Are there any questions?” Bridget asked. She was taking the briefing in the absence of Stanley and Alistair.

There was an uneasy change in the atmosphere at Bridget’s pairings. Henry glanced over at Zoe who did not look impressed and then he looked at Lana, who he would much rather be paired with instead. Lana shrugged, but Henry couldn’t put up with her all night.

“Bridget,” Henry said out loud, the urge to do something to fix this being too overwhelming to not say anything. “I’d spoken with Stanley about being paired with Lana while I settle back in.”

“Oh, you had?”

Only he hadn’t. He was definitely lying. He felt Zoe shoot him a look from his left but he ignored her.

“Yeah, sorry to complicate things for you,” he said blushing.

Bridget looked again at her notes. “Ok, right well, I’ll have to ask him why he didn’t think to tell me. Sorry Henry, it makes me look like I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Henry stiffened. “It was a while ago, and it was in passing on that farm night, so I don’t think he’ll remember.” More bullshit I hope she buys.

“Ok, well, Zoe and Nadheera, I’ll just put you two together and then Henry with Lana. Right, sorry about that Henry.”

“It-it’s not a problem. Thank you,” he said, doing his best to make his smile look genuinely appreciative rather than that of relief.

“Right, off we go then. Be safe out there. I’ll be in my car if you need to call me.”

The team got up and dispersed out of the pavilion, saying goodbye to each other as they went in different directions.

“Awwh, you asked to be with me did you?” Lana asked playfully.

“Not exactly, no. I made that up just so that I didn’t have to spend a whole night paired up with Zoe.”

“Oh shit, H. What happens if Stanley says he never said that?”

“Well I’ll just blag it a bit.”

“Shit, that’s pretty bold of you.”

“I just couldn’t bear it. She’s got issues.” He recounted the night of the blood bank battle when he helped her up moments before the car and the horse box trailer sped past and how much attitude she gave him. “Isn’t that weird? Has she said anything to you?”

“No she hasn’t,” Lana admitted. “But there was a lot going on that night wasn’t there. The adrenaline was doing over time.”

Henry didn’t look convinced. “…Maybe.”

“Why don’t you actually pair up with her one night and find out for certain. She might say, or you could ask or she might just be normal with you and show you that you have nothing to worry about!”

“Mhm, perhaps.”

“You fuckwit, I can’t believe you did that,” Lana said laughing, but shaking her head in dismay. “You were very convincing. I totally bought it.”

***

“Request for assistance. Person trapped in building with vampuras, Duchess Way,” came a transmission over the radio.

“We’re not far on foot,” Lana responded. “We’ll go.”

The pair started their five minute jog to the scene of Duchess Way. When they got to the top Lana whipped out her radio again. “Which number Duchess Way?” The street in particular was a narrow terraced street on a one way traffic street of at least half a mile long.

“Sixty two.”

“Fuck,” Henry said to Lana. “We’re at number one.”

“Come on slow coach, I’ll race you there,” Lana teased, running ahead.

“I’m not racing,” he hissed as quietly as he could, so to not wake the street up. “We might need to fight!”

Number sixty two was almost no different to the other houses on the street. It had a pebbled façade and bay windows to the downstairs front. The only difference was that it was the only house on the street with the windows boarded up.

“Typical. It would be the creepy abandoned house, right?” Henry grumbled. The remains of the front door were slightly ajar. “I guess we go in through there then.”

“Are you ok to do so?” Lana asked, just stopping right at the door.

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, I’m worried it’d give you, er… well flashbacks to the night Mark died in the abandoned library…”

“Oh. Yeah.” Shit. “No, I’ll be alright. I hadn’t really drawn parallels to that,” he admitted.

“Ah, well sorry.”

“You’re ok. I know there’s no dogs in there. I know Mark’s not in there, and I know you’re here with-”

“Will you just hurry the fuck up and help?!” a man’s voice from inside shouted out.

Lana and Henry looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

“Yeah, we’re just coming!” Lana shouted. Lana walked through first and Henry followed, both with their stakes raised.

“I’m through the back!” the man called out. “You took your time!” he said as Henry and Lana walked into what was the kitchen. Beyond the kitchen looked to be a bathroom, which was commonly added in extensions to houses like this.

Now, the kitchen was just a shell of a room, completely void of cupboards and white goods, even tiles and flooring. Just a few pipes sticking out where the water for the sink, washing machine and dishwasher would have been situated. There was banging coming from a door on one of the walls in the room.

“We’re on foot you know, it takes us a while to get places,” Henry argued.

“You were just out there talking, I ‘eard ya!” the stranger accused. He was tall, in a faux fur long coat that finished just below his knees and he had a wide brimmed hat on that cast a shadow across his face in the already dimly lit room. But Henry soon caught sight of the knuckle duster on his right hand and the big sovereign rings on his left.

“Whatever, we’re here now,” said Henry. He stepped forward slightly, putting himself between this person and Lana. “What are you doing here?”

“There are vampuras down there,” he said. “In the cellar.” He pointed at the obvious looking door which was the source of the banging.

“Yeah, I got that, but what are you doing here.”

The stranger sighed and reached into the inside of his coat. It revealed that he was wearing a black stab proof vest. Henry and Lana tensed and readied themselves with their stakes raised higher, but it was something in a pocket he was digging for.

The stranger looked at them as if they were the strange ones. “Calm down you two, I’m getting my wallet out.” He waved it in the air to show he was telling the truth.

“Well… we didn’t know that,” Lana stuttered.

He opened it and thumbed through some notes. “Look, if I give you some of this, will you just help me out, no questions asked? How’s a hundred sound?”

“Each?” Henry asked curiously.

“It doesn’t work like that,” Lana said straightaway. “We don’t work for money.”

Henry took the hint. “Yeah, it doesn’t work like that.”

“Two hundred then? Each.”

“No. We’ll help you dust these vampuras and you can be on your way, and we’ll be on ours,” Lana explained. “But put the money away. It’s creepy.”

“No, no no no! We’re not dusting them. I just need them staked. I’ve not put all this effort in to just see it in a pile of dust.”

“Ah fuck me, you’re not working for The Collector, are you?” Henry snapped. “What is it with that guy? Why is everyone running around doing his work? You should tell that prick that he should come out and do his own collecting!”

“Just who are you calling a prick? I am The motherfucking Collector!” the man boomed.

“Oh Jesus Christ,” Lana muttered. Henry gulped and it felt like the blood was leaving his legs.

“And down there is hot property. Mine! And I’ll get them MYSELF, with or without your help.”

“Well if that was the case, why did you call us?” Henry dared to ask.

The Collector stood there, not saying anything. No one said anything. The only noise came from the cellar door. “Because… Well because I was hoping you’d just take the money like everyone else and help me. Everyone has a price.”

“Well no chance,” Henry said. “People have been killing other people to get their hands on vampura corpse statues. And for what? So you can store them in your garage? Play tea parties with all your stiff friends? No way. It ends here.”

“Oh boy, you’re going to regret saying that.”

“Henry, we should go,” Lana warned, pulling at the back of his jacket.

The Collector put back his wallet and just as his hands were returning to his sides, he unsheathed a terrifying looking knife.

“Holy fuck,” Lana said under her breath.

It was a triple edged blade that twisted round like a corkscrew, and finished at a very sharp looking point.

“Now, if you’re not going to help me, then I’m going to have to kill you myself,” he said sinisterly. Then, it was like something switched in him. “Fuck!” he cried out, as if he had been annoyed by something or forgotten something important. Henry could feel Lana jump with fright when he cursed abruptly. She was still holding onto the back of his jacket and begun gently pulling him towards her. “I really did not want to get my hands dirty tonight. You fucks have really ruined things. This was supposed to be easy.” He almost looked desperate and genuinely disappointed. Then he switched back to sinister mode. “You silly little cu-”

“RUN!” Henry yelled. Both him and Lana spun on the spot and ran the way they came. It wasn’t a far distance they had to run, but there were tight corners that slowed them down. They had a few seconds on The Collector who wasn’t as quick to react.

Down the hall towards the front door, Lana made it first with Henry just behind. At the front door, Henry felt a tug at his leather jacket and he was pulled back. The force made him drop his double ended stake and his feet went out from underneath him and he found himself being dragged.

“Lana!” he yelled. She turned round and to her horror saw him disappear back round the corner towards the kitchen area.

“Henry!” she screamed!

Henry thrashed and tried to get leverage with his feet. At the first door frame they passed, Henry tried to grab out, but The Collector hit down on his wrist to loosen his grip.

“Get the fuck off you me you arsehole!” He found himself back in the kitchen and thrown into a corner at the back. The beast of a man went to the cellar door, but stopped suddenly.

“Leave him alone!” Lana yelled desperately, turning his attention back to slightly more demanding issues.

“Oh, you really should have continued running for your life little bitch,” The Collector snarled. He stuck out his knife towards her. Despite not having the reach, she still jumped back.

Henry meanwhile, had silently picked himself up and was creeping up on The Collector. Henry kicked swiftly out, making contact with the back of The Collectors knee, crashing him down on it. With another kick, Henry took him out at the other knee. Now he was kneeling, Henry grabbed for the arm of the hand the knife was in and tried to bend it back.

The Collector scarily growled and turned to punch back towards Henry with the knuckle duster adorned hand. Henry ducked and tried to punch into the back of The Collector’s neck, causing the hat to fall off.

But it was all Henry needed to do. It was enough to distract The Collector with. And it gave Lana the time she needed.

He saw her lunge at The Collector so he leapt back as she stabbed him in the upper chest with the metal zombie end of her stake, just above the top of his stab proof vest. Henry then came in with a whack to the side of the head with his silver mallet, knocking The Collector out.

He toppled over sideways like a fallen tree.

The Nasscies collapsed onto the floor in exhausted heaps. No one said anything. There wasn’t a sound, except for the banging on the cellar door.

“What the fuck just happened?” Lana panted.

Henry tried to get his own breathing back under control as he lay on his back. “We nearly died. Thank you so much for saving me.”

“Lana! Henry!” Bridget shouted from the hall way. She could be heard clomping through to the kitchen.

She appeared in the doorway and lowered the cross bow she had with her. Her eyes went from The Collector to Lana and Henry. “What the fuck happened?”

“The Collector… he came for us. He nearly killed us,” Lana explained. She extended her hand to Bridget to help her up.

“Are you ok? Are you hurt?”

“I’m ok,” Lana answered.

“I’m ok too. I’m not hurt,” Henry said, getting himself up. “Just a bit shaken up.” He walked round to The Collector’s body and kicked the scary twisted knife into the corner of the room, like they did in the movies.

“Is he dead?” Bridget asked.

“I think so. He’s got Lana’s stake in his chest and I smashed the side of his head in with my mallet. If that didn’t kill him, I don’t know what would.”

“And who the hell is banging on that door?”

“Vampuras,” Henry said, going to it. He called out, “I’m opening the door for you. No funny business, ok?” The banging stopped so Henry slid back the lock and turned the handle.

Five vampuras burst through, gasping for air and making noises of relief at their freedom.

“Oh thank God!” one cheered.

“Thanks for saving us,” another said.

“This is the only time I’m going to do this, but fuck off out of here,” Bridget said to them. “Before I change my mind and I stake you all.”

The five vampuras didn’t need any more convincing and ran past everyone and out through the front.

“Thanks miss!” one cried out on their way.

***

“Henry! Henry! Are you ok?” Mum came fussing through into the hall way when Henry came through the front door.

“Mum, I’m fine. I’m fine, honestly.”

“What happened? Why are you so late?” It was nine am and he should have been home a long time ago.

“Lana and I were attacked by someone and we ended up killing them in self-defence.” Her face looked progressively horrified as Henry spoke, the reality of what he was saying sunk in. “We just had to speak to the police and give our statements.”

She started to well up. “Oh baby, look come through and sit down. Do you want anything to eat? You must be starving!”

“Don’t cry Mum, I’m alright. Honestly. I’m more tired than anything." He gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I think I’ll get some sleep first.” Henry did his best to reassuringly smile at his Mum to put her at ease and left to go upstairs to his room.

He shut the door behind him and flung himself onto his bed, bursting into tears. Does this mean I’ve killed two people now? the main worry on his mind now.