A short story for you all. This is my favourite so far. Sorry about the length
The streets were deserted, the chilling winter breeze having driven most people indoors. It wasn’t a good night to be out, at least Kyle Sheppard didn’t think so. “But a man’s got to earn a living,” he thought. He was not the type of person to sit behind a desk, or to sell something to people who didn’t need or want it. He was tall, built like a semi-trailer and loved to fight. Besides, most of the time his kind of work beat a nine-to-five job any day. He loved his work, despite the arctic temperatures he and his partner had been working in for the last few weeks. He looked at his partner, Walter Towers. Kyle had been sceptical when Walter had wanted to join him in his nightly duties, but the two had known each other since high school and Kyle knew that Walter, on more than one occasion, had hospitalised large men, like himself, in a fight. At first glance, Walter was a short, wiry man, with a crooked nose and an equally crooked grin. Kyle knew better. The crooked nose was a trophy from fighting, the crooked grin was a quirky feature that somehow managed to lure in the girls. One benefit of working with Walter was the amount of ‘tail’ Kyle had been getting, compliments of Walters’ ‘crooked grin’. A smile flashed across Kyles’ face, then was gone, his mind back to his work. He heard footsteps. In the shadows across from Kyle came a signal, small but easily understood by the big man. He peered out of the darkness he stood in, a small pocket of blackness in the bright, well-lit street. Walter, in a similar position, could see the young man walking along the footpath, unaware of what he was walking in to. The two licked their lips simultaneously, like a pair of hungry predators, waiting for their victim to come into range. Walter knew this man would be the target. He wore a leather jacket, a flashy pair of slacks and impressive leather shoes. By his walk, Walter knew this man was confident, probably a professional of some kind, like a solicitor, or a banker, maybe even one of those computer types. Either way, there would be a mobile phone, credit cards and a watch, possibly some other jewellery. All in all, a good nights work. Walter studied the mans’ youthfull face. Walter figured he must be cold, his skin looking a little pale. “Either that,” Walter thought to himself, “or he don’t get out too much!” The man walked passed Kyle, unaware of his presence. As he got nearer, Walter stepped out of the shadows into the path of the man. The man stopped in his tracks for a moment, surprised people were out in this cold. “’Scuse me sir,” Walter said, “could I trouble ya for the time?” The man pulled an expensive looking watch out of his jacket pocket. He offered it to Walter. “Keep it,” the man muttered, flicking the watch at Walter, who stood silently, surprised at what had just happened. Walter stepped in his way as he tried to walk around. The man stopped, an angry look on his face. His expression sent a shiver down Walters’ spine. The man was about to say something, when a big hand grabbed the man by the shoulder and threw him down a dead end laneway that had been hidden by the shadows. The pair followed the man into the small yard behind the empty shops. A light from the street illuminated the small area just enough for the man to see his two attackers advancing on him. He stood up, smiling at the mismatched pair. They stopped. He brushed himself down, removing the pieces of paper and plastic he had fallen into. From behind his back, Kyle pulled a handgun, which he pointed at the young man. “Strip,” he said. “Beg yours?” the man asked, looking confused. “I said strip,” Kyle chuckled, “we want your clothes, your wallet and your mobile!” The man laughed so hard, he nearly fell over. Kyle and Walter looked at each other, eyebrows raised. “What’s so funny?” Kyle asked. “Doesn’t matter,” the man replied, shaking his head as he began to strip. “I will say that you picked a hell of a night for a mugging boys! I mean for starters, these aren’t my clothes.” He threw the jacket, pants and shoes in a bundle to Walter, who could not find a wallet or mobile phone. Plus there was something sticky on the leather jacket. “Where’s your wallet and phone?” Walter asked. The man motioned to his almost naked body. “You see any on me Einstein?” Walter took a step forward, but Kyle grabbed his shoulder. “You got a smart mouth buddy,” Kyle said, reaching into his coat with his free hand and removing a small tube which he began to screw onto the barrel of the gun. The man knew it was a silencer, but where these two dopes could get something like this he didn’t know. “Before you shoot me,” he said, “there is probably a few important things I should tell you.” Kyle, who had finished screwing on the silencer, aimed the weapon at the mans’ naked chest. “Tell ‘em to God!” Kyle said, as he fired four rounds into the mans’ chest, with no more than a popping sound on each shot. The two knew the gun and silencer had been a good buy. Being able to kill quickly and quietly had definite advantages. Walter went over and felt the mans’ neck, checking for a pulse, the body was already cold from the wintry night air. When he felt nothing, he looked at Kyle with his trademark grin. “Snap frozen!” Walter laughed “Too goddam easy!” Kyle said as he examined the clothes next to him. Walter walked back to Kyle, who had felt the sticky substance on the leather jacket. “What is this shit on the jacket?” Kyle asked. “It must be a drink or somethin’,” Walter remarked, as Kyle sniffed his fingers, then the jacket. “It’s blood!” said a voice. The pair turned. The man stood again, a smile on his face. “It belongs, or more precisely belonged, to the man whose clothes I was wearing.” Walter was stunned. The man had no pulse, he was dead! “As I was saying lads before you so rudely shot me, I have some important things to tell you.” Kyle lifted the gun and fired again, unloading the clip into the man, but he remained standing! The two thieves stared in absolute shock. “Have you finished?” the man asked. “Some people are just so fucking rude.” He examined the bullet wounds for a moment, picking up some blood on his finger, then sticking the bloodied finger into his mouth. He looked up at Kyle and Walter, who stood like statues, paralysed in disbelief. “Now the first important thing I should tell you, although I think you might’ve figured this out by now, is you can’t kill me. I was going to let you go, but know you’ve so rudely shot me, I think not.” The man started walking towards the pair, who still hadn’t moved. When he was within a few feet, he stopped. He stared directly at the two, a wicked smile forming on his young face. “The second important thing you should know is……….” he said pausing for dramatic effect, as his eyes turned demonic yellow and his canine teeth extended, “…….I’m a vampire!” Kyle and Walter screamed, but as they turned to run, a powerful hand grabbed each of them, hurling them against the far wall. He advanced towards them, his eyes glowing fiercely as he licked his evil lips. The two stood painfully, grabbing bits of broken metal piping, determined to go out fighting. The man stopped, smiling that deadly smile. “Gonna put up a fight hey? Excellent. There is nothing like a good fight to get ones’ blood pumping.” This comment almost made Walter hurl. The man took two steps back, motioning the two men forward. “Judging by your movements boys, I think you might have a chance against me. At least one of you could make it out alive, or should I say would have, if not for the most important thing I should tell you.” “What’s that?” Kyle asked menacingly. Sounds could be heard from behind them, beside them and above them. The two could see multiple pairs of glowing yellow eyes on all sides. “Surely you know this one,” the man said, baring his fangs, “vampires never hunt alone!”
Edited the thread title - please don't post threads with the title in caps, it makes people's eyes bleed --Shadow
Last edited by MadDogMickyG on Wed Oct 22, 2008 7:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
The warehouse was dark and silent, not even the rodents moved. Detective Tom Moore stood quietly, his back to the industrial sized crate, his phase pistol held ready. His quarry, Peter Phelps was hiding in here somewhere. Tom had tracked him in here, but the motion detector was not registering anything. Peter would be motionless, knowing that police carried motion detectors as standard equipment. The problem was Tom didn’t like to sit still for too long, in case he became a target. A moving target was not so easy to hit, phase pistol or not. The motion detector pinged, movement somewhere from in front of him. He saw Peter. Peter saw him, firing. A step forward, then a backflip up onto the crate took Tom out of harms the way. The pulse hit the crate, smoke and splinters filling the air. Tom fired back, knowing he wouldn’t hit him, but he was only trying to stop Peter from chasing him. A quick look showed no where to hide, not a good position to be in. The only place he could go was over to the walkway, a good one hundred at thirty metres from where he stood. Another pulse shot flew by, close enough to singe a few hairs, convincing Tom he should move. He took three giant steps and leapt the distance from the end of the crate to the walkway. Landing with a thunk, he turned in time to see Peter aiming his phase pistol from atop the crate. The pulse, a mixture of energy and solid air, came straight for Tom. At the last moment, Tom pivoted right, the pulse just missing his nose by a fraction. Tom acted in reflex, returning fire, but none found their target, Peter flipping and spinning away from each shot. Tom knelt down, knowing it was only a matter of time before Peter would get a good shot at him. Positioning himself inside the steel beam, Tom flicked on the sight of the pistol, trying to get his own ‘good shot’ at Peter, who still stood on the crate. Aiming carefully, Tom positioned his crosshairs on Peters’ heart. Just as he was about to fire, Peter jumped. Hoping for a lucky shot, Tom fired at Peter as he lept through the air. Again, Peter twisted like a diver, avoiding the pulse. He landed on the walkway, his pistol pointed in Toms’ direction. Tom stepped out from behind the beam, his pistol aimed at Peter, who stood five metres away. “Stalemate,” Peter said, grinning. “I don’t think so,” Tom replied, shaking his head. He smiled at Peter, then ducked and fired, his aim was for the chest. Peter, leaping backwards, returned fire, aiming for the head. The two stood slowly, eying each other. “Got you,” Tom laughed. Peter shook his head. “No you didn’t!” Peter replied sternly. “Did too!” “DID NOT!” Peter yelled. “I DID TOO!” Tom answered back, just as loud. “HEY BOYS!” came a louder voice, “STOP FIGHTING, OR TOM GOES HOME!” “Sorry Mom,” Peter answered. Tom apologized also. The two boys, standing in Peters’ backyard, were pointing fingers at each other. “This is getting boring anyway Tom,” Peter said, dropping his hand by his side, “let’s go in and play the XBox.” “Cool.....good idea!” Tom replied. The two nine year olds went inside, their previous game totally forgotten.
It was a picture perfect day, but we had a lot of those around this time of year. The sun was only just over the horizon, a beacon of fire in a cloudless sky, making it just the right temperature to be out, although in a few short hours it would turn to sweltering heat. That’s why we were going swimming. Well, not the only reason, but probably a good enough one any way. I took the beautiful weather as a sign of a productive and successful day, one that would mark the beginning of my new relationship, also a new career. I knew she was nearby, some one told me she’d been seen here twenty minutes ago. I was certain she would recognize my boat by now, I had been out here enough over the past seven years. “There she is!” someone yelled. I ran to the side of the boat, which is difficult in a pair of flippers, to look for her. As always, my heart leapt into my mouth when I saw her, her natural beauty always took my breath away. She was quite large for her age. “What a beauty,” I whispered as she passed by. She was the most amazing creature I had ever laid eyes on, but I knew if I wasn’t careful, she could become extremely dangerous. “Ready Allan,” my friend Ryan called out, “time to test your theory.” “Ready,” I replied, moving to the railing. I did one last regulator test, better to be safe than sorry I always say. I held my mask in my hand, giving Ryan the thumbs up. “Are you absolutely positive about this?” he asked me nervously. “Yes,” I answered, “this is a date between me and my lady. I know she’ll be gentle, we’ve known each other for years.” I gave him a wink. When Ryan gave me the all clear, I dropped backwards into the water with a splash. She would know I was here now. I put my mask on underwater. It was a ritual of mine, kind of a good luck thing I’d been doing my entire diving life. With what I was about to do, I would need all the help I could get. I lifted the top of the mask from my face, blowing air through my nose, which emptied the water. When I could see, the view was as breathtaking below the water as it was above. It was almost crystal clear, giving me a good ninety nine percent visibility rating. I started heading down slowly. If she saw me, I didn’t want to startle her, she might run, or more than likely, have a go at me. That would be a disaster, for the both of us. I saw her. I froze. I don’t know if it was from exhilaration, or terror, but she paralysed me. She was even more beautiful under water. I turned slowly as she passed by, watching her watching me. I had to calm myself, my heart was racing a million miles an hour. She circled me once, at a distance, unsure of me, even after all this time. If she could see herself, her magnificence, her presence, she would know she had nothing to fear, especially from me. The sight of her this close made my chest hurt. She swam passed me, pushing me gently, testing me, perhaps even teasing me. My heart began to pound in my chest at our first touch. I felt like I was about to make love for the first time, my body trembling, my chest aching. I found it hard to breathe. I tried to relax, to remain calm, but the feeling would not go away. My God, she was killing me, without even touching me. She passed by me again, displaying her wicked smile. Pain flared in my left arm and it was getting harder to breathe. I could see she was starting to move away slowly, maybe a little more aggressively than what I would’ve liked. This was not good. Despite my breathing difficulty, I watched her, slowly drifting out of view. The pain in my chest and arm increased. They hurt so much, I couldn’t swim. I panicked. I needed to get to the surface, but my body would not work, crippled by my ever-increasing pain. That’s when she grabbed me. She had appeared out of nowhere. Her teeth ripped through my wetsuit, into my chest. I screamed, or tried to. I had no breath to release. She carried me, squeezing with incredible pressure, crushing me in her mouth. I could feel the blood flowing from my wounds. My vision blurred. Her bite was sure to be the end of me. It was getting lighter, getting brighter. She was taking me to the surface, to display her trophy. Suddenly she let go and I’m floating, free. I knew the next bite she gave me would be the last. I can just make out thumps in the water, people grabbing me, dragging me through the water to the boat. I was waiting for her second bite, still, but it didn’t come. People are screaming, pushing down on my gaping wounds to stop the blood flow. As my vision fades, I hear Ryan cursing at me for believing a Great White shark was intelligent enough to remember me. She was! My last thoughts were of what I did to make her angry enough to attack me.
Pain down my left side wakes me. Where am I, am I dead? I open my eyes. The brightness hurts, but only for a moment. A hospital! How did I get here? I look around, a dull throbbing in my head as see Ryan asleep in a chair next to the bed. God, he looks terrible. Why are there tubes in my nose and a drip in my forearm? Shit, what happened to me? Then I remember. Gwen! Was she still alive? How the hell was I still alive? I looked at my body. Whoah! Stitches, hundreds of them, in a big circle, where Gwen bit me! But none of me is missing. Very strange! Where is the hole she should’ve left in me, the chunk of flesh that should be missing after a bite like that? Something very weird was happening here. “Glad to finally see you’re awake, Allan.” “Alive is probably a better word I think,” I croaked. “How long have I been out?” “Two weeks.” “TWO WEEKS, HOLY SHIT!” I was shocked. That was one hell of a bite she gave me. I sat up as best I could, eager to learn of what happened after I passed out. Ryan stood up, moving like he’d been in that same chair the entire two weeks I was unconscious. He put his arm on my shoulder, squeezing gently. “We all thought you were a goner, you know.” “Sorry,” I smiled weakly. I lay there for a moment, overwhelmed by everything; the dive, Gwens’ attack and the time I was out for. “Tell me Ryan, how many stiches have I got?” A grin spread across his tired face. “Nine hundred and two,” he replied, “a whole three hundred more than Spencer.” “I knew Gwen was good for something,” I laughed softly, the movement making my stitches move painfully. I turned and looked at him, seriously. “So, what happened, after she let me go I mean?” Ryan moved the chair closer to the bed before sitting down. Taking a deep breath, he began: “We saw Gwen release you near the surface, but the water was full of blood so we already knew something had gone wrong. Marcus and I jumped into the water, smart thing to do obviously, to grab you. We dragged you back to the boat and just held our hands on the bite till we got you to back to the marina. We radioed ahead so the paramedics would be waiting. It took about forty five minutes from the attack, to get you here. The doctors reckon that’s why you’re still alive. If we’d been out at the wreck, we wouldn’t have got you here in time.” “What happened to Gwen?” I asked, wanting to know the fate of my favourite lady. “No one knows? She’s disappeared right after the attack. We’ve had a boat out every day since then and she hasn’t been seen once.” “Maybe she’s feeling guilty,” I said jokingly, but Ryan didn’t laugh. “You might be right Allan,” he said seriously. “I don’t know if you heard me, but when we brought you onto the boat, I called you a shithead for swimming with a Great White shark without a cage.” “I did hear that actually. You said she wasn’t intelligent enough to remember me.” “Tell me something, do you remember how you felt before the attack?” “Sure, I was so overjoyed, I was paralysed. She was so magnificent, so incredible up close it hurt.” “Your left arm hurt too, right?” “I think so,” I looked at him curiously. ”From what I can remember, I was in so much pain, I couldn’t swim. I couldn’t even make it back up to the surface. That’s when she grabbed me.” “That’s exactly when she saved your life too!” “What’re you talking about? She could’ve killed me!” “Wrong. She’s a couple of tonne, with enough power in her jaws to slice you in two. But she didn’t. As a matter of fact, she even brought you up to the surface, near the boat. When Marcus and I jumped in, we would’ve been targets too, if she was aggressive. But she didn’t attack again. Because she knew! I don’t know how, but she did.” “Knew what?” I asked. What the hell was Ryan talking about? “That you were having a heart attack!” “Impossible!” I said. Me have a heart attack? “Impossible!” I repeated, I was in good physical shape. “Who told you this?” “One of the surgeons that operated on you. Apparently, they found quite a few blood clots in the arteries in your chest. According to the doctor, if Gwen hadn’t taken a big bite out of you like she did, you wouldn’t have made it back to the boat. She saved your life Allan! Goddamnit, that shark saved your life!” It made sense to me now. That’s why she did it! She wasn’t angry or hungry, she was helping. I looked at Ryan, a smile spreading across my face. “Well, it certainly brings a new meaning to the term ‘Jaws of Life’, doesn’t it?”
