December 15th, 2016
1:16 AM
Club Avalon
Loud music, flowing alcohol, and beautiful people; set these to a chic backdrop of hot pink suede, black leather and one too many disco balls and you have one of LA’s trendiest clubs - Avalon.
Tonight is especially busy. Countless people queuing at the various bars, and grinding on the dance floor make it hard to maneuver, let alone find a place to sit.
“Lucky for you, I’ve been saving a seat”
The voice came from a plush booth beneath a sleek neon VIP sign. As the crowd parts, a man comes into view – devilishly handsome, curly blonde hair, sparkly grin, and a pair of mauve eyes that are as attractive as they are alarming.
“Sit down-buttercup and lemme buy you a drink…actually I don’t really need to buy you one cause you know…I own this club,” he whispers as a statuesque brunette with big fake-ones stops by the table a to deposit two glasses of swirling blue liquid.
The owner smiles before taking a sip “It’s called Hypnotic. No? Not your type of drink? Would you prefer a Cosmo, daiquiri, Sex on the Beach…beer?” he finally says as if it were a 4 letter dirty word. “Nothing? Fine suit yourself. Too bad though, the bartender, Shane, can whip up a drink that will knock your socks off….he actually can do a lot that will knock your socks off, if you know what I mean,” he winks as he leans back into the swanky booth.
“So what brings you to my little establishment…wait, don’t answer I already know – Info! I can tell by that confused look on your oh-so-pretty face that LA isn’t exactly how you remember it, is it? Don’t look so sad Pumpkin, your’s truly is still around and as fabulicious as always. But alas it’s not me you want to hear about is it? Who are you looking for then?”
“The White Hats you say!? Oh baby, you’re about 9 years too late, don’t you know what happened to them? You don’t?! Oh you poor clueless, little thing. Well lucky for you, I always have the good gossip, so I’ll try my best to catch you up. Where should I start? I think for this story, its best to begin with the end…
“The year was 2008 – Spiderman 3 killed at the box office, black was the new black, the economy was doing well and what else…oh yes, the White Hats disbanded…well what was left of them anyways.
You knew things were going to be bad when the unofficial leader, Natasha got vamped – side bar, Tashy-poo was SOOO much more fun, as a blood-sucker, but I digress. Anyways, that took its toll on the group, and after that, I don’t think they were emotionally ready to take on what was coming.
See while everyone was preoccupied with their own personal problemos, no one took notice of the oh-so-inconspicuous ex-Power-That-Be, who was subtly trying to…well you know, destroy reality.
Oh don’t look so scared, you’re still here right, so clearly everything ended happily ever after, kinda…
Now stop interrupting, god its like I cant get one word out with you. Anyways. Zayn, the ex-PTB secretly gathered a small army of baddies, ‘Black Hats’ for lack of a better term, to take care of anyone that would stand in her way. They were a nasty crew of peeps, and lemme tell you, one by one everyone got smashed beneath their seemingly unstoppable fist. First they cleared out Wolfram and Hart, then it was the Ministry, hell they even ambushed the Sindel Coven; preemptively killing off anyone who could potentially stop their master.
By the time the WHs became the wiser, they were up to their elbows in shit, and had no allies left to turn to. But, in typical champion fashion, they did their best to stop the oncoming Apocalypse.
God Muffin-cake, you look so eager, I guess I should just jump straight to the big punch. Well, there was a big shoot-em-up above the Hellmouth, which, FYI had decided to park its fat ass here in LA.
Did the White Hats win? Well…are you a half full or half empty kinda person? See Zayn didn’t end up destroying the universe, but not because our heroes managed to stop her, quite the contrary actually. Though they managed to put up a valiant effort, even getting rid of most of the Black Hats, Zayn was so powerful by then, that she managed to take out almost every White Hat single handedly. In the end, it was Zayn herself who put an end to everything…I think she had some sort of cosmic epiphany, and changed her mind about everything at the last minute, pretty funny right?....No, you don’t find it funny? Well yes...I guess it is kinda depressing when you think of it…well life goes on right?
Did anyone survive? I wont lie, not many….
There’s that succulent Hispanic morsel, Alessa, though her then husband Ellis Longwood wasn’t so lucky. Anyways now she’s the head of Longwood Inc.
Who else, who else…oh yes, there’s that teen witch Cole. Well, the boy with the baby-blues is all grown up now, and let me tell you, he isn’t that scrawny little thing you remember” again the owner winked. “He’s still kicking around LA, though I gotta tell you, he’s even grumpier these days that his Kaoshian buddy Kyle, who, I don’t think I need to remind you was never Mr Smiley-Sunshine. PS, Kyle’s still around also.
The others? Patience sugar-stroodle, I’m getting there. Well the Russian is still around, though he’s less active in the whole hunting scene, I think he ended up in Med school.Pretty much everyone else….well like I said, not many made it…
Wait scratch that, insert exception. Kate and Galen were never accounted for after the final battle. You’re guess is as good as mine as to what happened to those two. Most people think they’re dead, but who knows, maybe they’ll turn up one day.
How did the rest die?” The owner’s face broke into a knowing smile though he wiggled his finger in a not-tonight manner. “That’s a story for another time, though I’m sure in the coming weeks, people will fill in the missing pieces. But as for now, it’s getting late, and I’m getting bored of telling this story…
WAIT, I almost completely forgot…oh and this one is good, so juicy you’ll cream yourself…too graphic? Maybe, but I’m serious this is good. You wont believe who's still around. Amanda ‘Daye’ and the necromancer Marcus, or should I say Mr and Mrs Dalton. Hell yes I’m serious! And even better than that, they aint no White Hats anymore. In fact, if Wolfram and Hart were still around, that gruesome-twosome would give them a run for their money in the bad department, but you keep that on the downlow – I don’t need anyone from Dalton Corp beating on my club door causing trouble.
End notes: Poplar Avenue didn’t make it through that final battle, and the Foundation that Tash used to run, is head up by the half wit Sam Aubrey, though now it deals mostly with Charity and not so much subsidizing the good fight.
Well there you have it, the last 9 years in a nutshell. Yeah I know it isn’t how we all expected it to play out, but cheer up bucko, things will work themselves out. It might not be how you remembered but there’s a whole new group of interesting peeps in LA, some good, some bad, some fabulous,” wink. “Now that you know everything, if you will excuse me, I have business to attend to.
“What’s that? who am I? Please, things may have changed, but I know you all remember me, do I need an introduction? I didn’t think so. Though I’m not quite like you remember: Sure I’m hilarious, smart, hot, hell, who are we kidding?, I brought sexy back, but my wild days are over. Now, you’ll find me here, in club Avalon. Feel free to drop by whenever you need the skinny on anything going on in the town. Anyways I hope to see you around. Until then, welcome back to LA.”
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Adam's story
Dec. 16th, 2016
Club Avalon
1:17 AM
"What, you were expecting me to be dead?" The man standing by the bar idly watching the room grinned from beneath a nimbus of curly black hair, his blue eyes glinting. "I'm not normal, remember. I only barely survived the final battle, and you don't wanna know how that happened. At least, I hope you don't. Otherwise, you're one morbid motherfucker."
He laughed. "Nah, I'm still alive and so is Zen, though Rachael moved on to bigger and better things. I hear she's now the head of a place over in Amsterdam and living the life I always wanted to if I wasn't so damned good at what I do." Sighing, he took another belt of vodka. "Bob, however, dear, sweet Bob...Bob wasn't so lucky. He kinda disappeared for a while. I still don't know where he's gone, so I took over his position in the meantime, and the Diaz has become one of the main hotspots in town. I still bartend, though I'm more the owner."
Adam put up one hand. "Don't interrupt. I'm almost done catching up, anyway. As for why I'm here, I had to close down early. Business took me elsewhere tonight, and elsewhere ended up being here. Anyway, Ilsa joined up with the rest of us good guys, though I've never really been sure if she's playing for the team or not...something about my last encounter with Dr. Bloodmoney that leaves a bad taste in my mouth and makes me wonder if that shot I put in his ass really did kill him but good."
"And, finally, I'm flourishing in my extracurriculars, as well. LA has never seen so few zombies." He looked around for a moment. "Hey, I have a customer coming, so I'll just give you this." A minicorder tape in his hand. "Take care, now, and don't let anything nasty bite you in the ass."
LA By Night 2 - Season 1
15th December, 2016
Cedars-Sinai Hospital, Los Angeles
3:20 am
Introducing Mischa Barton as Erin Lloyd and Starring Jensen Ackles as Roane
Pulling her hair free from its ponytail, Erin sank back into the worn leather couch and sighed. A freshly lit cigarette smouldered between her fingers, sending a thin curl of pale smoke twirling upwards. Erin watched it for a moment before raising the filter tip to her lips and inhaling deeply. She kicked her feet up onto the small coffee table and sighed again. It had been a long night in the ER.
Thirteen hours - two gunshot wounds and three road-traffic accidents including a young mother who’d been hit by a speeding drunk. No-one had thought she stood a chance, two broken legs, several fractured ribs, a punctured lung and a ruptured spleen. Six hours of surgery later and she was sitting up in intensive care reading Vogue. Of course she’d need months of reconstructive surgery to rebuild the shattered bones in her face, not to mention physiotherapy to help her walk again. But she was alive, and yet another miracle to add to Erin’s already impressive track record. Leonard Meyer, a usually cool and diffident man, had shook her hand personally.
Stifling a yawn with the back of her hand, Erin took another draw on the cigarette and closed her eyes. She loved the sound of the hospital at night - so quiet, just ticking clocks and the low, hushed whisper of the night staff at the nurse’s station.
“Dr Lloyd, you’re still here.”
Erin opened her eyes and sat up. Maeve Adams – the ward nurse for that evening stood half hidden behind the door. With another stifled yawn, Erin stretched a little and stubbed out her cigarette before getting to her feet “I wanted to take another look around before I headed off for the night.”
Maeve smiled, her face brightening as Erin walked with her back to the ward. The young doctor was much liked amongst the other staff, she actually appreciated the work of the nurses and treated them with both dignity and respect – a rarity amongst most doctors, and even more so amongst surgeons.
Erin entered the first room, pausing beside the huge metal bed as Nurse Adams came in behind her, unhooking the chart from its place at the foot of the bed. Erin shook her head, no.
Like a waking corpse, the body in the bed – pallid and seemingly lifeless – opened her eyes. The first gunshot victim of the evening, her left shoulder was heavily bandaged while an IV dripped a steady supply of fluids and painkillers into her arm.
“Dr Lloyd…” she whispered.
Erin shared a smile with the nurse. “I’m here Mrs Williams,” she said softly. “You’re doing well.” Gently she closed her fingers around the woman’s left hand. *Yes, very well*
The patient offered a weak smile before her eyes closed, as slowly as the petals of a rose closing against the cold. In the quiet of the night the steady beeping of the machines continued to sing in their steady, monotone. Erin left the room as silently as she had entered.
Through the window of the second room, she gazed at another seemingly unconscious figure, that of a skinny olive-skinned boy, sixteen-years-old, though beneath the faint yellow glow of the bed-side lamp he looked more like twelve. Erin had spent four hours on this one – assisting with a balloon angioplasty after repairing damage to the aortic valve from a bicuspid abnormality. Now she observed the boy through narrowed eyes, studying his subtle movements in sleep, the way his knee shifted beneath the blanket, the way he turned his head from side to side.
“He’s doing fine,” Nurse Adams whispered from beside her.
Erin nodded, although she knew that within weeks he would suffer seizures leading to lifelong epilepsy. Still it was better than death. She would wait and watch before making any predictions, after all, there was always a possibility that she was wrong and besides, she would never be able to explain how she knew – she couldn’t even explain it to herself.
Erin lifted her gaze from the window and was about to move on when she had the unmistakable feeling that she was being watched. She frowned and looked back down the corridor from where they’d come. Illuminated within a doorway stood a man, not much taller than herself and not much older from what she could see in the dimly lit hallway. A chiselled cheekbone and prominent chin, short hair cut into a fashionable style. Good-looking by anyone’s standards.
“Who is that?” she asked the nurse, nodding towards the figure who continued to stand motionless in the doorway, not even attempting to disguise the fact that he was watching them.
“Who?” Nurse Adams turned around and strained her eyes. “I don’t have my glasses on, is someone there? There aren’t any visitors except for Mr Lawrence’s daughter.”
Erin was already walking down the corridor, her sneakers squeaking against the tiled flooring. She was no more than a couple of yards away when the young man turned on his heel and vanished through the door, his long leather coat casting a circle of shadows around him. Erin picked up the pace and ran the last few steps, pushing the door open into the stairwell.
She’d expected to hear footsteps, breathing, anything. Instead the stairwell was deserted with only the faintest scent of ozone – like the air after a thunderstorm, lingering in the doorway.
“Hello?” she called out, looking behind the door before leaning over the railing and peering down the thirteen flights of stairs. “Is anyone there?”
“Dr Lloyd?”
Erin gasped in shock, not even realising how she’d been holding her breath in anticipation. “Maeve…”
“Is anyone there?”
Erin frowned a little then shook her head. “No… it must have just been Branning – I sometimes think he must have been taught to mop floors by the CIA.”
Nurse Adams smiled faintly, “he shouldn’t even be up here this time of night, speaking of which…”
“I’m on my way,” Erin murmured softly, “Dr Meyer will call me if there’s a problem. You can always ask him to call me, Maeve. You understand?”
The nurse nodded before heading back to the reception desk. Erin waited in the doorway to the stairwell for a further minute before following.
Three floors down, Roane lifted his head, his left ear swivelling like a tiger on the prowl as he listened for the slightest sound. Inhaling deeply, he filled his lungs with the girl’s scent. She was a young, ignorant half-breed but there was still no getting away from the fact that she had Sidhe blood coursing through her veins. His own eyes glowed, a ring of emerald green surrounding another of molten gold.
With a last upward glance he turned and continued down the stairwell.
LA By Night 2 - Season 1
Taylor & Anderson Productions Offices
15 December 2016
22:00
Introducing Amy Lee as Jasmin and Orson Welles as William
Jasmin hurried down the corridor, cursing as the heel on her shoe broke. Again. *This is the last time I buy those cheap-ass Chinese imports* she thought, not for the first time. It would be easier to avoid it if the deal wasn’t so good sometimes. Reaching down, she picked up the now-broken shoe, took off the other, prepared to knock…
Only to find the door opening in front of her. A tall man waited for her, looking like he stepped right out of the cinema, dark hair combed over. “You’re late,” said William, a simple statement of fact, reaching out to examine her torn mesh shirt. “Please, don’t tell me that’s the latest fashion.”
Jasmin sighed, pushing past him into the office. She went straight for the small refrigerator tucked under the desk to get out a small packet of blood. “It’s not my fault,” she protested, carefully ripping it open. “I ran into a hunter on the way over.” Besides, while it was a fashion, she didn’t expect the older vampire who grew up in the days of William Randolph Hearst to understand.
“One of the Daltons’?”
“Why yes, William, I am ok, thank you for asking.” Jasmin rolled her eyes some, feeling the cold liquid pour down her throat. Tossing her shoes aside, she sat down on a couch in the office. “But no, not one of their hunters. This one was far too stupid, and religious – something about me being the ‘spawn of satan’ or some such. Thankfully dead now.”
William chuckled at that. “Well, we do have a demon inside of us after the turning, after all.” Jasmin winced internally still at the mention of turning. Yes, William had saved her life by doing it, and she had forgiven him, but it was still annoying. Both the vampire her and the previous her would have wanted a choice in the matter. “Still, at least he’s taken care of. That means we can get down to business.”
“Oh?” Jasmin opened up her purse, finding her cigarette case. Lighting one of her cigarettes, she took a long drag, closing her eyes and holding for a moment. Having enough breath to actually smoke was invigorating, she decided as she exhaled.
“Yes. I’ve been in touch with the Family, and apparently they’re getting tired of some of Marcus’ people and their attempts at persuading certain elements of our community to pay protection to him.”
“We’re not going to start a war, are we? Because after the last time….”
“Hopefully, it won’t come to that. They’re just sending someone out here to take care of a couple of the Daltons’ people – you know, just something to let everyone know that we aren’t pushovers.”
Jasmin finished emptying the blood pack, taking the opportunity to think. In the past few years, after the `White Hats` everyone heard rumours of disappeared, Marcus and Amanda Dalton rose to a position of prominence in the underworld. It reached the point where even the Russian Gromyoko organisation finally decided to abandon a large portion of their Los Angeles organisations, and form an alliance with the Tongs in San Fransisco – the result being the current situation, with the Castellettis and Daltons vying for power in something of an uneasy truce.
“You know, you should back a film about this stuff.”
William smiled. “I’ve considered it, but then I’m not sure many studio executives would like being told – however indirectly – that there’s a couple of rather powerful vampires in the industry. Though I don’t think they’d be surprised if Christopher Walken turned out to be one.”
Stifling a laugh, the younger of the two shook her head. Walken as a vampire was a scary thought. Especially if someone actually did turn him. Though that did remind her of something else. “Speaking of, we have the premier for that new film of his next week.”
“Yes… I still won’t be able to make it – I’ve cancelled twice on Paramount already, and if I have to move another meeting, they might just not take the pilot. Just do me a favour and don’t take your latest blood doll to this one.”
Jasmin frowned at that, shoulders slightly slumped. “I kind of got carried away last time… so um….”
William shook his head. “Oh well. I’m sure it was enjoyable.”
She smiled at that, and at the memories of what they had done. “Yes… yes, it was.” Though to be fair, he wasn’t dead. Just almost there. Which meant having to find out if he would still be a ‘doner’ or just ‘lunch.’ *Ah, well. It’ll be a shame if I have to finish him off. He was kind of cute.*
Shaking her head, Jasmin broke the reverie. “So, I’m taking the Julian premier, then. And probably meeting with whoever the family sends out. What about you?”
“Me?” William smiled. “I’ll be doing something for the good of humanity, for once: working to finish ending the career of Tom Cruise.”
LA By Night 2 - Season 1
December 15th, 2016
12:36 AM
SUNY Campus Library
Starring Tyler Hoechlin as Mikey Kirk
“Mike, wanna hit up Pinkberry before calling it a night?”
With a massive thump, the teen closed the enormous text book, and stifled a yawn before shaking his head. “I’m pretty tired, so I’m just going to call it a night. But thanks though.”
Mike smiled as the 3 girls in his study group rolled their eyes in unison; more ammo for his friends to accuse him of being a home body. “Next time girls, I promise!”
“That’s what you always say.”
“We’ll see you back at the Residence then.”
“Bye Mikey!”
“Be safe ladies!” the boy called out, only to be ssshed by a librarian that looked like she was straight out of casting. “Sorry.”
Packing away the 50lbs of physics text books, the teen strapped on his bulging back-pack, and headed for the door. Having spent so many hours in the Library since arriving in LA, he could pretty much find his way out with his eyes closed. The same went for the walk back to the University residence. Tonight however, that familiar walk was going to be somewhat out of the ordinary.
Halfway between the library and home, and 10 minutes after the same footsteps were trailing behind him, Mike started to feel a little nervous, to be honest, a lot nervous. LA wasn’t known to be the safest city on the planet, and it being quite late prompted the teen to pick up his pace.
The footsteps grew faster.
*Calm down, be rational, look back, you’ll see it’s probably nothing* Mike thought, trying his best to slow his beating heart.
Stealing a brief glance backwards, the boy breathed somewhat of a sigh of relief; it was just a guy, some normal looking guy. *See, nothing, no reason to be scared* He repeated, just before he banged straight into a woman walking passed him in the other direction.
“Sorry, sorry, my fault,” Mikey apologized.
Behind him, the footsteps stopped, in front of him, the woman sneered. “You should watch where you’re going.”
“I said sorry,” the kid mumbled, adding *bitch* in his head before pushing onwards. He didn’t get much further. In the blink of an eye, a pair of hands from behind clamped onto the sides of his shoulders and forced Mike into the alley to his left – so much for normal looking guy.
“Oh thank god you bumped into me, tonight I had a craving for student,” said the girl he walked into, before her face snarled into its demonic form – so much for normal girl.
Mike’s body went rigid, it had been about 9 years since he was last face to face with a vampire, but he sure knew one when he saw it.
The man who had been behind him the whole time sauntered in behind the vampiress, his face following suit. “I’m still hungry baby, you going to share?”
Looking back, dead end, ahead 2 hungry vamps, talk about rock and a hard place *Oh shit shit shit shit shit*
Laughing, the female advanced slowly, as if savoring every minute of the hunt. “Oh you’re scared, you poor thing. Good! Makes you taste better!”
“Oh man, you don’t want to eat me, come on,” Mike babbled, slipping off one of his backpack straps. “Please just let me go, I…I…” before he even knew what he was doing, Mike swung the bag of text books full force into the female vampire, and then made a sprint towards the street. He managed to knock the girl off balance, but he didn’t even get close to clearing the male vampire.
“Stupid shit,” the man growled, blocking Mike’s path before shoving the teen deeper into the alley.
Regaining her balance, the vampiress rubbed her arm. “Jeez kid, what do you have in there, bricks?”
“Physics books” he gulped.
“Don’t worry, when we’re done with you, you won’t have to worry about studying anymore.” The girl vampire took two steps towards Mike and then….burst into flames.
Both teen and male vamp stared wide eyed at the ashes tumbling to the floor, before Mike got enough sense into him to make another mad dash. Again the demon was too fast.
Slamming the kid into the wall, the vamp snarled as he let Mike fall to the floor in pain. “I don’t know how you did that, but you’re going to pay for it!”
“He didn’t do that,” a calm voice said from the end of the alley. “I did.”
Spinning from the teen, the vampire leapt towards the mysterious new arrival, bloodlust in his eyes. “I dont know who you are, but you're a dead man also!”
“I doubt it.”
The man flicked his wrist, and the vampire’s momentum shifted midair, sending the demon crashing backwards.
Mike watched as a ball of light emanated from the man’s hand and flew into the vampire, sending him up in smoke like his female companion a moment earlier. “Holy shit” the teen gasped.
Walking forward, the man picked up the fallen backpack and then extended a hand to Mike. “Don’t worry kid, you’re ok now. Run back home, and just forget what…” The man paused mid sentence as he stared at the boy. At the same time, Mike finally got a good look at his mysterious savior.
“Mikey?”
“Cole?!”
Reintroducing Hayden Christensen as Cole Matthews
LA By Night 2 - Season 1
March, 13th, 2008
Sindell Castle
Night of Zayn's Attack
Starring Laura Prepon as Lily Waters, James Lafferty as Daniel Underhill and reintroducing a young Tyler Hoechlin as young Mikey Kirk
Cole had only been asleep for an hour when the shimmering astral image of one of Sindell’s inner circle appeared at the foot of his bed.
“Wake up boy! Wake up!”
Rolling over, Cole stretched and yawned as he forced an eye open. Sparkling light penetrated the grey haze of sleep, startling the teen to a bolt upright position.
“The castle is under attack,” said the elder’s flickering replica. “Quickly my boy, you must round up the younger initiates and bring them to safety!”
Even before the elder was finished the sentence, Cole was out of bed, pulling on a plain white t-shirt that had been hung on the lamp next to his bed. “What do you mean attacked? Who in their right mind would attack Sindell?”
It didn’t make sense. The coven’s castle was just about the safest place in the world the teen could think of; not only was it filled with some of the strongest witches on the planet, but it was protected by years and years of wards and spells.
“There is no time to explain, we are all in grave danger. Now round up the kids and - ”
“But I can help. You know I have field experience in battle,” Cole interrupted, only to be silenced by the ‘Shut-up-and-listen” glare the elder gave him.
“I trust your abilities Cole which is why I need you to get the younger students to safety; you’re the closest one. Now go!”
Before he could argue, the image vanished. “Shit, what is going on?” he said aloud, as he rushed from his room.
Outside in the hallway, two of his peers, Lily Waters and Daniel Underhill, were emerging from their rooms simultaneously, the confused looks on their faces mirroring Cole’s.
Lily was 18 years old, tall and thin with bright auburn hair an amazing aptitude for Earth based magic, and though Cole didn’t know her well, they had always gotten along. Daniel on the other hand was a different story. He was a handsome, brash, arrogant hotshot, descending from a prestigious line of witches; he and Cole didn’t get along since day one. Together, the three of them were the oldest and most experienced witches of the ‘kids’ and the most likely candidates for becoming field agents in the next year or so.
“What the HELL is going on?” Daniel fumed, not happy having been woken up in the middle of the night.
“Did you guys get a message about the kids?” Lily asked, the tone in her voice a mixture of anxiety and determination.
Dan nodded.
“So did I. There all one floor down,” Cole said, as he began to lead them to the stairwell.
“I repeat, what the HELL is going on?”
Before anyone could guess, a piercing, far off scream cut the conversation short. “That’s coming from the kids floor!” Dan said before bounding past Cole and Lily and rushing down the stairs.
When Lily and Cole finally caught up, Dan was standing in the middle of the hall, a pile of dust at his feet. “Look Cole, looks like you aren’t the only one that can handle vampires”
Lily rolled her eyes as she began to bang on the kids’ doors. “Damnit Dan, this isn’t the time for your petty jealousy ok!”
“Jealous!? Of him?” he called out between bangs of his own, “yeah right”
Ignoring Dan, Cole continued to rouse the youngsters from their beds, and shuffle them into a group between him and the two older teens. Luckily, since Sindell only admitted children younger than 16 very rarely, their was only a handful to gather.
Dan began a quick headcount “The twins, Matt, Jana, Jeremy, Shannon…are we missing anyone?”
“Mikey!” Lily gasped. “Mikey isn’t here! Matt, he’s in your room right? Do you know where he is?”
“Umm, he wasn’t there when I woke up, but I know he goes to get water a lot of times at night,” the 10 year old stammered frightfully.
Cole had already began scanning psychically for the small boy “Ok, ill find Mikey, you two, flank the kids, be very careful and get out of here as fast as possible.”
“When did you become boss here?” Dan replied, only to get a smack on the arm from Lily.
“Ok. We’ll head for the back of the grounds, and into the woods. Once you find Mikey, meet us there.”
“Don’t split up,” Cole called out as he ran down the hallway, “You’re safer in numbers!”
The boys mind was racing in overdrive as he made his way to the closest bathroom. *Vampires in the Sindell coven. It didn’t make sense. First, how could they get past the wards, secondly, vampires alone were no match for the witches. But the elder…the elder seemed frantic. In the pit of his stomach, something told Cole that there was something or someone other than just vampires attacking Sindell.
Finally reaching his destination, Cole slammed open the door and gave a quick look around the room. At first his eyes saw nothing, but his ears managed to pick up a small whimper coming from the showers.
“Mikey! Mikey is that you?”
Pulling back one of the shower’s curtains, Cole saw the small 9 year old, sitting in the corner, his knees brought up to his chest, crying into the sleeve of his spiderman pyjamas. He kneeled down to the boys level. “What are you doing in here?”
Tears began to well in the boys eyes before he buried his face into his knees. “I…I wanted water…but *sniff* but…I saw monsters..and I got scared”
“Monsters? Here in the bathroom?”
The boy shook his head. “No…I saw them in my mind..*sniff*…they on the first floor and they are doing…*sniff*...they are hurting people…one has big…big black ugly wings….and and…he has no eyes”
*Shit, I guess there is something other than vampires here* the teen thought as he laid a comforting hand on Mikey’s shoulder. “Mikey,” he started in a soft voice, “Mikey look at me. Come on buddy, its ok, just look at me.”
Hesitantly, the kid gazed upwards at Cole.
“Don’t cry Mikey, its going to be ok, you understand? No matter what, I’m not going to let any of those monster hurt you.” Wiping a tear from the kid’s face, Cole forced a smile. “We’re going to play a game, ok?”
*sniff sniff* “What game?” *sniff*
“I’m going to give you a piggy-back-ride, but you have to close your eyes, and keep them closed ok? No matter what you hear you keep them closed until I say it’s alright. Can you do that?”
The boy nodded slightly.
“Great. Ok champ, climb aboard.”
After hoisting Mikey onto his back, Cole began to retrace his steps down the hall, praying that he didn’t run into any of the battling that he could hear happening on the various other levels. However, before he was even halfway to the closest door to the back grounds, Dan’s voice sounded in his brain, as clear as if they were on a telephone.
*Did you find Mikey?*
*Yeah*
*We didn’t make it outside. The place is crawling with vampires. We’re boarded up in the library*
*Stay put, we’ll be there in a second*
*You aren’t getting the point Cole, how are we going to get the kids out?!*
*Just stay there and don’t open the door to anyone but me*
*Are you even listening*
*Dan, shut up, we’ll think of something!*
As Cole ended the mental connection with Dan, he noticed that Mike’s small body was shaking like a leaf in a storm. “Don’t worry buddy, things are A-Ok. You still got your eyes closed right?”
“Yeah,” Mikey mumbled, though he shaking persisted.
Cole was thankful the boy wasn’t looking because when he turned the final corner to approach the Library door, he almost walked head on into 2 vampires.
“Looks like you took a wrong turn” one of the vampires laughed, as he spotted Cole and Mikey.
“C…C…Cole?” Mikey whimpered, his tremors increasing.
“Eyes closed Mikey,” Cole whispered, as he took a step backwards.
The other vampire laughed “Don’t want the kid to see you get eaten?”
“No, I don’t want him to see you two explode.”
Speaking words of power, Cole summoned two balls of fire which he propelled at his adversaries. A second later, he and Mikey were the only ones standing in the hall.
“Dan…Lily…open the door, hurry!” Cole called out.
He could hear rustling and after a moment the door swung open. Wasting no time, he, with Mikey still on his back, ran into the room.
“Barricade it!” Lily said anxiously, as Dan began to push a large bookcase back in front of the door.
Once inside, Cole gently knelt down, and let Mikey climb off. “You can open your eyes now. I’m proud of you, you did great. Now go with your friends” he said pointing to the other kids who were huddled together in a corner.
“Well, now everyone’s here, but it doesn’t help any. We’re stuck in here,” Dan whispered, so the kids would not hear.
“What if we tried an invisibility spell, and snuck out another exit,” Lily suggested, but Cole was quick to dismiss it.
“Wouldn’t work. Even if they couldn’t see us, the vamps would smell us.”
“We could fight our way out,” Dan said. “I’m not scared of stupid vampires”
Lily scoffed “Oh good idea Daniel, drag 7 kids through a battlefield, real smart.”
“Well I don’t see you or Cole coming up with any good ideas!”
“Hold on,” Lily replied, her body going rigid as her eyes began to glow green. “I can feel something through the stone. Something powerful is headed this way. We have to hurry”
Standing up abruptly, Cole motioned for the two to follow him as he headed towards the kids. “I’ve got an idea. Do either of you know the area around the castle. Somewhere safe, distant, but not too far?”
“My family has a cottage about 20 miles from here,” Dan replied skeptically. “What are you planning on doing?”
“Picture it clearly,” Cole said.
“Why?”
“Just do it!”
Focusing on Daniel, Cole pulled the image of a luxurious country house from his mind. *Good something to focus on*
“Ok everyone up. I need you all to hold hands and get into a circle ok,” Cole ordered, as he hurried the youngsters into position. “Now I need you all to just gather up as much energy as you can. You know, like you guys due during you’re classes. Don’t try and focus it, just try and raise as much energy as you can. Can everyone do that?”
A chorus of nods and “oks” came from the children.
“Just what are you planning Cole?”
“Whatever it is,” Lily interrupted, “We have to do it fast, companies almost here.
“Lily, I need you to consecrate a circle so no energy is lost, and Dan, I need you to direct all the raised energy into me, ok?”
“I’m not doing anything till you tell me what you’re planning” Dan.
“We’re going to teleport out of here,” Cole said flatly.
Both Dan and Lily’s eyes widened in disbelief, though the former was the one to speak up first. “There is no way you can pull this off, you’re going to get us all killed!”
Losing all patience, Cole turned to Dan, his eyes flaring with anger. “Listen Dan, this is our only chance to get the kids to safety, and if you just help out instead of question everything maybe we can actually do it. Besides I’ve teleported before!”
“You have?” Lily asked surprised?
“Well…once. I can do this guys,” he said dropping his voice so the kids wouldn’t hear, “But I can’t do it without your help.”
“Ok, then lets do it,” Lily said, as she raised her hands towards the sky. “Hail to the Guardians of the Watch Towers of the North…”
“Ok kids, you heard Cole, everyone start gathering energy, just like if it were class,” Dan said, before taking his place in the circle.
Moving to the center of the circle, Cole closed his eyes and began to focus on the picture of Dan’s country house. As the energy within the circle grew, so did the image become clearer and clearer, and just as a huge bang sounded at the library door, Cole could feel Dan feeding him the last of the power raised in the circle.
“ Vanish ”
The light of the room began to fade: Dark…darker….darkness.
* * * *
“Cole…Cole you ok? Cole wake up”
The pain in the teen’s head of excruciating, but Cole managed to finally fight through it and open his eyes. Only then did he realize he was lying flat on his back, with Dan standing over him.
“Shit Cole, we though we lost you,” he said, as he helped Cole to sit upright.
Looking around, he noticed the surroundings were no longer those of the library, but a finely decorated living room. Lily was over in the kitchen surrounded by the kids, cleaning the tears from their faces, between pouring glasses of milk for everyone.
“We appeared just outside,” Dan went on, filling in the obvious gaps in Cole’s memory. “But a second after you appeared, you past out.”
“How long have I been out?” Cole said, rubbing his aching head.
“About an hour, give or take a few minutes.”
“Uhh maybe I should have stayed past out,” Cole replied, after failing at his first attempt to stand. “What do we do now?”
“We’re going to spend the night here, Lily and I will stand watch. Tomorrow morning, Ill arrange for pick up, and I guess we’ll send the kids on buses or flights back to their homes.”
“Cole!” Over from behind a island counter in the kitchen, Mikey came running towards him.
Another wave of pain prevented Cole from getting up again, though this time he managed to make it to one knee, just as the small boy threw his arms around him.
“Cole, you’re ok right, right?” Mikey said as he let go and took a step back. His face scrunched up as if he were about to burst into tears again.
Though he felt like a train had run over him…twice, Cole smiled. “Yeah Mikey, I’m ok.”
LA By Night 2 - Season 1
December 16th, 2016
1:00 AM
The Road to LA
Introducing Michael Rosenbaum as Kobra...
"Yeap... I remember that time in Bal'more ten years ago. Tragic that there be some gun battles goin' on still"
The young man sat in the back corner of the bus, trying to drown out the sounds of the drunken man that apparantly was from Baltimore City in Maryland. He didn't really care for morbid tales of anything that happened ten years ago, seven years ago, hell he didn't want to hear about yesterday. What he wanted was to do his job and do it well. He didn't give a rats ass if it was staking a vampire in the heart or lopping off some demon's head off. He didn't give a damn at all, all he wanted was to get to Los Angeles, the city of the angels. The city of angels. He found it ironic one of the most infested cities would be called then. Oh irony... how it always bit him in the ass.
"Yeah I told'em that I would drive town tae exxix and I would kick his teeth in then and thar!"
...."Would you please shut up?" the young man asked.
Several eyes turned to them, all of them annoyed. The young man didn't care, though he knew if he let his hot temper get ahold of him, he would regret it for the rest of his life. Damn the shamans and the mystics, damn the witchdoctors and the magicians. He was tired of being led astray but that idiot Fearghus. Sure, the old man taught him everything, but Kobra had to face it, the old guy was a clingy old bastard who didn't know what from what.
As the bus came to a stop, the man stood and walked down the isle. LA was here. He stepped down the steps, only to witness the very scene that had plagued his memories....
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Several Years Ago...
He stood alone in the graveyard, scared, frightened, and angry. Fearghus had brought him here with the intention of testing him with three trials, and now he felt death approaching. And as the ground collapsed and a figure lunged at him. He ducked, rolling under the vampire, and looked around for a weapon. There was none, and so as the vampire came at him again, he reared back a fist and slugged the monster. The vampire fell to his back, and he mounted him, grabbing his throat, and with an almost inhuman tug, ripped the vampire's head off, instantly turning him to dust.
And just as he thought the nightmare was over, a creature around seven foot tall with curved horns attacked. The young man ducked again, and this time.... he wasn't so lucky.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Hey dead things... get off the lady."
The vampires all turned towards him, with hungry glares. They bared their fangs and looked ready for a fight. The leader of the pack stepped forward with a broadsword, clearly stronger then the rest, but still a simple vampire.
"Who the hell do you think you are cueball?" The vampire growled.
The man smiled, "My name is Kobra."
LA By Night 2 - Season 1
December 16th, 2016
9:05 pm
Bar Slainte
1235 Vine St.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Sean Hearly absentmindedly swirled his Bud before taking a long dip and finishing it. He quickly motioned the bartender for another. As he waited for his next bottle, he looked around. The bar he was in, the Slainte, was a favourite hangout for many cops – it was close to the precinct and it served good beer – but he was alone that night, and definitely there were a lot of new faces in the crowd.
Next to him was a young Wall Street type with his own beer in front of him. He was talking about stock figures to the guy in the suit next to him. Not fun at all. Sean continued his gaze past them, past the group of loud detectives talking about baseball and the couple making out, and then stopped on the sight he had been searching for – the most stunning girl that he had ever laid his eyes on. Just then the bartended came back with his drink.
“Close your trap or you’ll swallow a fly,” the huge man said, following Sean’s stare to his waitress.
“You’re as right as always, Angus.”
“You surprised?” Angus McAffee asked, he smiled and went to get someone else’s drink.
“Not at all,” Sean answered, and got up to sit at one of the small tables lined against the portrait filled wall.
He lay back on the red leather seat and ran his finger over the beer bottle as he tried to follow her movements without being noticed. Her hair was a dark blond colour, long curly tresses that got past mid back, her hazel eyes were laughing as she exchanged jokes with the patrons and slapped the stray hand away, and her movements were supple as she walked around the tables. Everybody liked Cadee, and he was no exception. He had known her for a couple of months now, since he had started frequenting the Slainte after being transferred to Hollywood’s police station, but he just couldn’t seem to get tired of watching her.
Sean saw Cadee looking his way and quickly looked away. He must have gotten lost in his thoughts, because the next thing he knew, the object of his thoughts was standing right in front of him.
“You need another or you’ll just stare at that bottle, detective?” Cadee asked, as she extended her hand to Sean’s empty drink.
“I- mm, yeah, sorry” he stuttered, and handed her the bottle. He didn’t seem to be able to think straight when she was around. He composed himself and added. “Please, yes, bring me another.”
“I- I thought you hadn’t come tonight,” he added quickly when she was about to turn and leave. It was the longest sentence he had been capable of uttering to her since they’d met. Cadee looked at him again and dazzled him with that big smile of hers.
“I had to help my roommate with this hot shot audition of hers. Let me tell you, if that girl doesn’t get the part, I’ll doubt the intellect of all Hollywood fauna.”
“I didn’t know your roommate was an actress…” Sean said, and then added. “Hell, I didn’t know you had a roommate at all.”
Cadee cocked her head and really looked at the young man in front of her. He looked quite different than the times she had seen him before. He seemed self confident and even aggressive when talking job with his partners. Not that she had paid much attention to him… she had been hearing what he and his fellow policemen had had to say at the times. But the guy was nice looking. He had this lost puppy air that she liked in men, and his eyes were incredibly blue; she wondered how she had never noticed that before.
“So, what did you know about me, Detective Hearly?” She leaned on the table and let her hair touch his hand.
Sean gulped. “Not much, just your name and – well, actually just your name.”
Cadee laughed and turned to go to the bar. “I guess we’ll have to work on that, then,” she said over her shoulder.
Introducing Piper Perabo as Cadee Cloud and Adam García as Sean Hearly
LA By Night 2 - Season 1
Dec 15, 2016
1:15 am
“Mikey?”
“Cole?!”
With mouths a gap, the two stood astonished. It had been 9 years since they last saw each other, and unfortunately, the situation had not been any more pleasant.
Finally, Mikey was first to speak. “So I guess that makes twice you come to my rescue.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not keeping count.”
Mikey smiled, “I hope not, cause I doubt I could ever return the favour.”
It was Cole’s turn to laugh; not something he often did anymore. “Mikey kirk…wow…” The witch was still stunned. In Cole’s mind, Mikey had always been a 9 year old kid, and it was hard to reconcile that with the teen standing before him. “You’re a lot bigger than I remember,” he joked.
“Well, puberty will do that to you. It’s been almost a decade you know.”
“That long eh,” Cole replied, a slight frown sneaking onto his face. Memories of a decade past came creeping back momentarily.
Sensing a strange change in Cole’s demeanor, Mikey was quick to change topics. “So that was some pretty crazy magic you pulled back there. I guess you kept up with it after Sindell…” he paused, realizing how awkward the conversation was becoming. “Well I guess you kept up with it.”
“Yeah, you could say that,” Cole answered. “So judging by the bag full of books, I’m guessing your - ”
“Studying here in LA,” Mikey’s cheeks flushed, “Sorry, didn’t mean to cut you off. Yeah I’m doing a physics major, I’m here on exchange for a semester.”
“You should be more careful while you’re here; LA is pretty badly infested with demons and vampires.”
The boy nodded, having already learned that lesson. “So I guess that’s why you’re here,” he asked before he even knew what he was saying – Mikey blushed again.
Cole hesitated, “I do what I can. And, I do live in LA, though you were probably too young to remember that,” he said, not giving the boy any real details of his life. “So where you staying while in LA, is it far from here?” he asked, as the two made their way back to the street.
“Not really. We’re actually technically on campus now, and my hall’s about 10 more mins walk from here.”
“Want some company for the walk home?” Cole asked.
“Oh…umm…naw..it’s cool,” Mikey faltered, abit embarrassed.
Seeing past the macho front, Cole knew the boy was still very shaken up and began walking with him anyways. “So physics eh, sounds hard….”
During the walk back, the two tried their best to catch up on the 9 year gap, though on his end, Cole didn’t divulge much info other than basics; Mikey didn’t need to be anymore involved in ‘that’ world than he already was.
“Looks like this is my stop,” Mikey said as they approached one of many campus residences.
“Alright then, I’m going to take off, but in the future Mikey, don’t go taking anymore late night constitutionals.”
“Well now that I know LA has its very own Batman patrolling the streets, I’m not that worried,” the boy joked.
“I’m no superhero.”
“Oh no? Flashy powers, coming to peoples’ rescues in the knick of time, all you need is a spandex costume.”
Though Cole smirked, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Have a good night Mikey,”
“Wait,” the boy called out, before closing the door. “So will I see you around at all?”
“Yeah, just flash the ‘Bat Signal’, ” Cole called back amiably. He had nothing against the kid, in fact it was good to Mikey, but in the end, it was best they didn’t see too much of each other. Cole’s life was devoted to hunting, fighting the good fight so to speak…it was not a life he wanted Mikey to get mixed up into.
Not five minutes later, the teen was up in his room, lying in bed with his eyes closed. Though he appeared to be asleep the boy was far from it. Instead, his astral form was leaving his body and making its way out of the hall, following the direction Cole had gone. *Lets see if Batman plans to do anymore crime fighting tonight*
LA By Night 2 - Season 1
December 16th, 2016
1:01 AM
Los Angeles Streets
"Kobra huh?" The head vampire said growling pointing the broadsword at the hunter with a dangerous glare.
"Yes. Kobra."
With a snarl, the vampire charged forward. Kobra sidestepped, whipping out a wooden stake from inside his sleeves, and stabbing the undead thing in the back, yet impaling him in the heart, dusting him instantly. The broadsword dropped, and Kobra picked it up before throwing the stake at the nearest vampire, which missed the heart, but still sent him to the ground. The third vampire ran up to Kobra only to have the sword's tip at his throat. The Hunter eyed the vampire with the malice of something driven not by hate or greed but vengeance.
"What... whaddya want?" The vampire protested.
"I want answers. Who runs this hellhole?!" Kobra shouted.
"Bah... you really think it matters?" the vampire growled, spitting on the demon hunter.
"Oh... but it does."
"How sa...." - the vampire was interupted as the sword cleaved his head off, forcing the body into an early dusting. Kobra dropped the blade and removed his fallen stake, aggravated at the fact that he had JUST arrived only to be accosted... no... he sought them. Shaking his head he just had to wonder how pathetic this place could potentially be. Why did he need to be here? He didn't know. He couldn't possibly know for a long time, and yet it mattered not. What mattered was that it would get done and it would get done soon.
Oh yes it would... but now he had another goal: to meet some townsfolk.
LA By Night 2 - Season 1
December 20th, 2016
Longwood Inc. Building
7:45 pm
Reintroducing Jessica Alba as Alessandra Longwood
Alessa looked at the street below through the wall to wall window of her office in the top floor of Longwood Inc and sighed, relieved. She had spent the day in meeting after meeting; a new branch in Alaska; a big deal with an African coven of black witches, delayed cargo… it had been a hectic day, but she preferred her days like that. Usually. She was feeling strange today.
She leaned on the window, her hands pressing the glass at her sides, the forehead resting on it. It was greying already outside, winter was almost there, and even if LA was never actually cold, it got greyer. The palm trees outside the building projected long narrow shadows and the people walking by seemed to be avoiding them, like children avoiding to step on sidewalk cracks. Even those unaware of the supernatural world perceived the threatening quality of the city and reacted accordingly, although mostly in silly acts like steering clear of palm tree’s shadows.
With an abrupt feeling of disgust, Alessa retreated from the window and exited the office. She ignored the solicitous secretary and stepped into the elevator, punching the floor numbers almost with fury. She knew what she needed when in that mood; a couple of minutes later, the elevator doors opened to her private rooms. A big double bed on a raised dais guarded the space, but it was the only concession to comfort, the rest of the big chamber was a complete training room.
As she moved into the room, Alessa caught her own reflection multiplied in the mirrors that covered the walls. She stripped off her severe Jaeger suit, and walked in her camisole and underpants to the weapons display table. She moved her hand over the blades and chose one of them. The short sword felt right in her hand, but it wasn’t exactly what she needed. She shrugged and left it among the others. Instead, she turned to the punching bag in the corner.
An hour later, the demoness grunted and punched the bag with a vengeance. Her white silk undies were soaked through. Her long dark hair was tied back with an elastic band and her bangs were plastered to her forehead. Her muscles throbbed but still she pounded away at the bag and her legs tensed as she threw her body into the punch.
She hated training alone, but she seldom did it otherwise. The thought started another series of brutal kicks to the punching bag. Nobody to train with, nobody to talk to, nobody to laugh with… Alessa felt something run down her cheek and she only half realized that it wasn’t sweat.
She pounded harder and grunted and then she started yelling and cursing.
“Maldita sea, no debería, no debería haberlo dejado solo… la puta madre!”
She cried and punched, and cursed and yelled until her legs gave out and she finally collapsed on the mat below. She leaned against the bag, and panted. Her muscles screaming.
That was how Mike Coulter found her fifteen minutes later. He crossed the room; his shoes sinking into the carpet and came to stand right next to her. He folded his arms and looked at her. Alessa just couldn’t look back.
“You look like hell.”
Alessa shrugged and pushed herself to her feet. “I feel like hell.”
Silence descended. Alessa stared at the heavy bag; Mike stared at Alessa. Suddenly conscious of her state of undress, Alessa thought to cover herself, but shrugged again. What he had seen couldn’t be erased anyway.
"Next time, perhaps you can announce yourself," she said as she brushed past Mike towards the bedroom area where she took a loose robe from a clothes stand.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Mike said, not paying attention. She grunted but didn’t respond. Mike took a half step toward her and reached out his hand.
“Alessa…”
“Don’t,” she yelled, flinched, and then calmer, “Just don’t.”
Mike pursed his lips, stepped back, and crossed his arms.
“All right.”
Alessa nodded and put the robe on. “How is she?”
Mike sighed and a shuttered expression masked his emotions. “As well as to be expected, considering she just lost her husband. She’s pregnant, you know?”
Alessa nodded again. “Just make sure she understands we’ll take care of her future, and the child’s of course. Not that it’ll solve anything, but…”
“She knows,” Mike interrupted her. “And appreciates it.”
“Good.”
Mike smiled and took an experimental step closer to her. She didn’t back away. “It’s not the first time it happens, Alessa. You gotta stop blaming yourself every time one of ours dies.”
Alessa’s intake of breath was almost thunderous. “It was my fault. I should have known.”
Mike frowned. “No, Alessa, it wasn’t your fault. You had no way of knowing that thing was in the house, and that it…” she faltered.
Alessa felt the pressure building in her chest again and looked away. “It’s my job to know!”
“Bobby shouldn’t have been alone Alessa. That was careless of him. You’re not responsible for every stupid thing the Demon Police people do.”
Alessa ran her hands through her damp hair, causing it to stick up on end. “I know. It doesn’t make it easier anyway…”
It was Mike’s time to nod. He knew how she hated losing their people. She had lost too much already, and every one was like a new stab of ice in her heart. It was strange to see her so distressed. In the ten years he’d known her, he had seen how she had been building barriers around herself, as not to get hurt again. But every time a Demon Police died those walls cracked.
She screamed suddenly and cursed in Spanish again. Mike stepped forward, but a warning look from his boss stopped him. He sighed.
“I’ll leave you to bathe now,” he said, waited a second and left after not getting any response from her.
Mike Coulter is played by Danny Glover.
LA By Night 2 - Season 1
Saturday, Dec 17, 2016 1:24am
Slainte bar (hosting Club Alchemy)
1235 Vine St.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Hard driving music pounded through the bar. Above, the DJ was shouting down to the dancers on the floor from where he had set up his turntables. He was sprinkling confetti down on the floor like snow as he played some old Classic christmas carol with a driving drum-machine beat. It took Angus a second or two to realize that it was Bing Crosby's White Christmas sped up to 180 beats-per-minute.
*As much as everything changes it always stays the same* he mused as he served a drink to the pasty faced fellow. "Oy! Mate! I ordered a blood wine not this runny California Vinyard crap!" he shouted over the cacphony.
Angus focussed his attention on the man. Angus could smell the death around the customer. His clothing spoke of an age of punk-rock and heavy metal. His attitude was completely out of place and his eyes were sizing up Angus and the crowd the way a lion sizes up a gazelle.
Angug leaned forward. "It is blood wine you vampire bastard and if you'd tasted it, you'd know that. I'll serve you and your kind here but I don't take kindly to you doing your grocery shopping here. Dance, relax, drink some O-Positive and have a good time, but if you came to eat, you are out of here faster than an Irishman during a potato famine. Are we clear?"
The man's contemptuous sneer meant that he had heard even if he didn't intend to heed it. Angus grabbed Cadee and put her on the bar. "Ill be right back. I have to grab some stuff from the back room." Cadee knew that he meant he needed a smoke, but she allowed him his pretense.
In the alleyway, Angus pulled out the golden box of Benson & Hedges. He'd had a tough time getting them anymore, since the laws had changed in L.A. He actually had to go to a tobacconist shop rather than a corner store as it had been for so long.
He laughed at people who told him he should quit because it would take years off his life. After over three hundred years of smoking the equivalent of a pack a day, he was damned if he was going to quit now. He stubbed the butt out in the sand bucket he kept out here for just this purpose and headed back in, stopping only momentarily to grab a small ewer of clear liquid with a cut lead crystal cross on the top from a cabinet full of colorful bottles and containers.
The sound washed over him like a wave and Angus' eyes adjusted to the colored lights quickly. He scanned around looking for the vampire and spotted him chatting up one of the college students who generally were his customers on weekends. She was a nice girl who had stopped in looking for a job during the day waiting tables. She wasn't yet 21 so he couldn't hire her, but he remembered her nonetheless.
He slipped back behind the bar and pulled out a plastic pitcher and quickly mixed up a batch of sangria to which he added a healthy shot of the clear liquid from the ewer and a wineglass of blood from the plastic bags he kept behind the bar for his late-night customers.
"Cadee, that sangria in the fridge is for that guy there," he said pointing, "but don't give it to him unless I tell you to."
Cadee was well past wondering about Angus by now, so she did as she was told. Angus busied himelf with several Quicksilver cocktails and a few rail drinks when Mr. Pale came back to the bar. "Two Wines...one red. one white."
Angus was quick to pour the wine and as he handed it over he asked, "Having fun?"
The man flashed a wicked smile and said, "Not yet, but soon."
Angus slapped the bar. It made a sound loud enough for several of the closer patrons to grab at their glasses and glance at Angus startledly. "Heed me, undead, you do not hunt here." he said in a voice as deep as the pounding baseline.
"Whatever," said the vampire in a dismissive tone.
A small person barely four feet tall climbed up to the bar on one of the stools. "Well met, Angus!" he shouted, dropping a solid gold dubloon onto the bar. Angus slid the coin off the mahogany surface and replaced it with a slightly-below-room-temperature Guiness.
"Merry Meet to you, Patrick. How goes the job at Universal?"
Patrick rambled on about how he had been making ends meet among the mortals who never imagined that their miniature co-worker was a leprechan. He talked about how they were more than happy to share secrets, and mysteries with him which he spirited away to the places that leprechans keep such things. Where other leprechans turned them into gold and wishes.
"It was every bit as good as you said it would be, Angus. Great tip."
Angus shrugged and smiled, "As long as you keep paying in gold I am willing to ...," his smile faded and his eyes wandered back to the table with the vampire. The girl had begun to slump and the man was lifting her out of the booth.
Angus who had been carefully monitoring the intake of everyone knew that she had only had three glasses of wine and that was far too few to make her that drunk. He reached down and grabbed the pitcher and snatched Cadee's serving tray as he pushed past her and her surprised shouts.
He held the tray flat and set the pitcher on it even as he made a beeline to the man. Artfully bumping a table he guided the pitcher and it's cold contents just so.
"Stupid Git!" the man cried out as the sangria doused him and the girl. His eyes flared yellow and his face took on an animalistic cast. Through sharp fangs he growled, "You just earned a bloodbath, old man!"
"Actually, 'Fang' you are the one bathed in blood. The blood of Christ: Holy water and wine with a few slices of fruit."
"What are you babbl..." the vampire started...but he felt it as it soaked through his clothes. He screamed and burst into flames. The girl fell to the floor and Angus grabbed the tablecloth and threw it over the disappearing vampire and the girl before anyone could see.
People screamed and the music abruptly stopped. Cadee, ever quick to recover, said "Is everyone all right?"
Angus stood on a chair and addressed the crowd. "It is okay, folks! No need to worry, someone smilled a drink near one of the table-lights, thats all. A big flash and a frightened girl, but nobody was hurt."
He stepped down as the DJ put on a little upbeat song to try to slowly bring the vibe back. People drifted to the bar and Cadee struggled, but was keeping ahead of the rush. Angus lifted the girl and carried her back to his office.
Once there he took a paper tube of powder and poured it in her mouth. He then tapped her tongue with a cinnamin stick and watched with satisfaction as she worked up her own saliva and swallowed the mixture. Her eyelids fluttered and she looked at him drowsily. "What happened?"
He explained about the drink and the table light and that she had passed out from lack of oxygen. She nodded mutely, accepting the story. He pulled a cup from the water cooler and poured her a glass. Telling her to stay here as long as she liked and that when she was ready to go, which way to get out.
He hustled back to the bar to give Cadee a hand just as she was starting to get swamped and between the two of them they handilly finished all the drinks. Cadee wiped her hands on the bar towel and leaned over to Angus. "The only thing I don't undertand, is how the accident happened."
Angus looked at her with confusion, "Just like I said, the drink got near the table light."
"Yes, but the table lights are battery powered, they aren't flammable."
"um..." Angus faltered and Cadee smiled at his discomfort. It wasn't often she got one over on the guy. She rang the bell at the bar. "Last Call!" she shouted over the din.