THE NIGHT

NEW DAWN FADES

Eloi Alvarado

Intro

The night

I walk the Line

Suicide note

Seven

Candy Says

T.v. Eye

So Alive

You’re so pretty

The speed of pain

Step into the light

Elysium

The Conversation

Atrocity Exhibition

Stations

39

Wake Up Dead Man

All We Ever Wanted Was Everything

Epilogue

INTRO

Two men were walking down the sidewalk at dusk. One, an older looking man possibly in his late thirties, and the other, a younger one. The older man, Jaekov, lit a cigarette while he took long strides. Phaelyx, the younger struggled to keep up. Panting, Phaelyx called out at his elder,

“Wait up Jacob. What’s your hurry?”

Jaekov, not breaking stride, said,

“Time waits for no one. And all things happen when they must, Felix.”

Phaelyx was used to this type of answer and stopped asking for clarification. Long ago. He decided to wait and see if it would become clearer as the night progressed. They were watchers of humanity and their purpose was to observe humankind and help guide them to the will of that which controls the natural order of things. Whatever that may be. It’s not important.

As Phaelyx pondered his role in the divine construct he managed to keep up with his mentor as they reached their usual place for instruction and reflection.

Wooden steps carried them up terraces to the top of a small plateau overlooking the desert southwestern coast where a small coffeehouse stood.

They walked around to the back patio to sit at a small table with a useless large umbrella. Jaekov took off his overcoat and draped it over the railing near the table and sat down. Phaelyx, seemingly out of breath, plopped down into his chair. Jaekov lit another cigarette and said,

“Felix, do your best to compose yourself. There is no need for such a display. You aren’t even really breathing.”

Phaelyx lifted his head that had been resting on the table, took one last deep breath and said,

“Sorry, I can’t help it”

“You can”, said Jaekov “it is just a habit, much like my smoking, we use to help us feel closer to our subjects. Just try and be more disciplined.”

“Ok” Phaelyx straightened up and motioned for a waitress to come over.

A young girl with blonde dreadlocks and a large sleeve tattoo on her right arm wearing an apron came to their table.

“Hi Felix, Jacob”, she chimed “the usual for you gentlemen?”

“Please”, said Jaekov, and she bounded away to retrieve their coffee and hot tea.

A song came on the loudspeaker and Jaekov closed his eyes and listened. He then looked out onto the sunset over the ocean and sighed. He took on an expression that looked pensive and remained lost in thought well after his coffee had arrived. Phaelyx knew better than to interrupt, as the best stories and lessons were born from such reflections.

After a bit longer, Jaekov took a sip from his lukewarm coffee and as a new song came over the loudspeaker, he spoke.

THE NIGHT

“You’re the night, Lila, a little girl lost in the world.”

Delilah woke up to find her alarm, which was set for 7:30, had been going off for over three hours. The droning tone phased in and out along with throbs of pain in her temples. With her sleep mask on, she groped around her nightstand and unplugged the offending clock.

“One too many pills” she thought. Rolling back over wanting to bury herself under her inviting soft down pillow, she let out a sigh mixed with a yawn. “Ok, gotta at least make an appearance,” her conscience spoke.

She was going to be late for school. So what else is new? She was in no danger of losing credit and it was already close to the end of the year so there was no need to rush. No need at all. She rubbed her big brown eyes and scratched her head that was a nest of dyed red hair and rolled out of her futon bed. Finding the floor was almost as challenging a task as finding the alarm clock.

...

There was nobody in the house by now so she felt free to walk

around the house in what she fell asleep in, a tank top and her underwear. Still bleary eyed she opened the refrigerator door and looked around until she found a blueberry muffin. She grabbed that and an orange juice carton, closed the fridge door with her hip and put them on the counter.

After a big yawn she took a bite out of the muffin and opened the orange juice carton. She opened the drawer under the counter. The drawer was filled with various prescription bottles but she couldn’t find the one she needed. After a little more searching, finally she found it. A small amber bottle. Delila gave it a shake, and after taking an auditory inventory, she opened it and dropped the last two pills into the palm of her hand. Taking another drink from the carton she dropped the pills into her mouth and swallowed.

“The breakfast of champions” she whispered to herself.

The phone rang. She walked to pick up the phone and she noticed that there was a note on the message pad near the phone. The phone rang again. It read:

‘Lila,

Don’t forget that I am in Chicago today and I won’t return until Sunday night. If you want, you could stay over at Candy’s for the weekend. Don’t forget to leave a light on if you do. See you on Sunday.

Love, mom

“Candy can go fuck herself.” Delila thought.

The phone rang and then the answering machine picked up. Delila walked back upstairs to take a shower.

...

She entered her room and went to the closet. As she pulled out a pair of torn jeans and tiny t-shirt, the phone rang again… this time she answered it.

“Hello? ...Yeah… just didn’t feel like it… so? ...Whatever… big deal… ok... I fucking hate that… ok I’ll be there.”

It was five o’clock in the evening when Delila finally left the house. She put her backpack in the back seat of her car and she drove down the block of her clean suburban neighborhood. As she drove she lit a cigarette and looked into the rearview mirror at her eyes, lined in charcoal and pupils a little dilated. She pulled some sunglasses from the visor and put them on.

When Delilah reached the school parking lot, a custodian waved her down to stop.

“A little late aren’t you,” he asked. Charlie was one of the younger janitors at the school and probably working his way through college. He leaned on her car door and gave her a friendly.

“Early for tomorrow?” she sarcastically smiled and leaned forward. “C’mon Charles, don’t give me any shit. Not today.”

Charlie’s eyebrows furrowed, “what’s wrong ’Lila? This isn’t like you.”

Delila put the car back into gear. “How the hell would you know?” She pressed on the accelerator and tore off, leaving Charlie in mid reply further behind her.

She pulled into a spot, grabbed her backpack and got out in a hurry, slamming the door behind her.

She made her way to the theatre and opened the door. Looking into the dark theatre down the center aisle, she saw her friend, Amie reading a book by the stage light. Even in this dim light she recognized Amie’s shaved head and spiked bangs. Delila made her way quietly down the aisle and sat down behind her.

“Sorry I’m late.” Delila whispered.

Amie jumped a little but didn’t turn around.

“You missed the whole thing.” Amie said then turned around. “I pulled some strings to get you in this play and you can’t even show up for rehearsals.”

“I’m sorry Amie...”

Amie cut her off, “besides that you’ve been blowing me off for a while now. At lunch, after school, weekends...”

“Amie, its just that Steve…”

Amie cut in again, “It’s always Steven. I understand that he’s your boyfriend and that occasionally I would lose out to him, but I’m fucking tired of it! I’ve always been there for you. I’ve always stuck up for you. You didn’t even care about what Candy did to me or what she says about me, like you’re embarrassed about it, or you think its true...”

Delila cut in this time, “Like I fucking care what that bitch thinks. I’m going over there after I leave here anyway tonight and tell her what the fuck is up.”

In her very melodramatic way Amie looked up and said, “don’t bother.” She stood up and put her book into her backpack and said, “I don’t care what you do anymore.” She slung her backpack over her shoulder and made her exit through the side doors.

Delila sighed and reached into her backpack and pulled out a bottle of stoli vodka. She twisted off the cap and took a long hard pull. It burned into her stomach that was already warm with the three pills that she had taken before she left the house (were they uppers or downers? she couldn’t keep track anymore). One more pull of the bottle and she stood up. The stage lights were almost dancing. She put her hands up in the air and swayed with them. The bottle fell out of her hands and broke leaving a small trail of vodka running down toward the stage. Startled, Delila looked down and thought that the broken bottle was significant. Still swaying she kicked at the broken glass and almost fell down.

She staggered toward the stage as her body began to lose feeling. Her knees buckled and sent her tumbling down, just shy of the stage.

She reached up the best that she could and pulled herself up onto it. “Ste-even” she whispered, “I’ll see you s-ooon” she rolled over onto her back as the lights faded in her vision and reaching into her jeans she pulled out a revolver. She held it up to her temple and squeezed.

“Couldn’t feel a thing…” was her last thought before everything went black.

I WALK THE LINE

“I walk the line between good and evil”

A figure silhouetted gainst the twilight sky moved across the rooftop. Its head followed its target walking below. Streetlights flickered on as the target crossed the street looking arounnd nervously. He fumbled for his car keys as he walked.

Not losing track of his target, the hunter made his way to the part of the rooftop that overlooks the alley below. The hunter jumped over the edge of the roof onto the fire escape of the building across. Within the next breath, the hunter lept over and onto the opposite firesecape below. He then dropped into a dumpster and crept behind a wall.

Eyes fixed on the target, he surveyed the street on both ends. The target went up to a white van and opened the driver side door. He looked around again as if he knew he was being followed and got in.

The hunter was now across the street behind a truck, two cars behind the van. He could see the target disappear into the drivers side.

The target put his seatbelt onand checked the driver’s side rearview mirror. The then checked the passenger’s side.

The hunter at this point is now behind the target’s van. As the engine kicked on, the target checked for oncoming traffic and then eased into the street. After a sigh of relief he took out a cigarette and popped it into his mouth. He reached down and depressed the cigarette lighter button on the dash near the ashtray. The engine idled a steady hum. The target stopped at a traffic light and the lighter popped out. He reached down and pulled out the glowing coiled lighter and touched it to the cigarette. The target took a deep inhale of smoke as the tip glowed bright.

A fist smashed thourh the sliding door window sending beads of safety glass all over the interior. The hunter dove through the opening into the van and got behind the driver’s seat and said,

“Drive…”

The target dropped the lighter and tried frantically to open the door that was locked.

“I said drive.” the hunter growled as he place what felt like a sharp blade across the target’s throat. The target slammed on the accelerator asking, “Where are we going?”

“The aqueduct, west.” The hunter said.

They drove through the city streets. Headlights and brake lights streamed along as they cut through back streets.

“Why are you doing this? What are you going to do?” The target asked.

“You know why and you know what…” the hunter said.

“I have a family!” the target pleaded.

The hunter said nothing.

They reached the aqueduct and drove down the banked surface to the bottom of it, al vast banked concrete surface that cut throught the city between and under streets in tunnels.

There was a tunnel up in the distance. And the hunter told the target, “Go into the tunnel, and hurry up.”

“You want faster? I’ll go faster you bastard… I have the seatbelt.” the target thought to himself. He pushed the van from 45 to 60 then 75 and the mouth of the tunnel was fast approaching. The hunter remained stoic with the rising speed.

At the last moment the target veered off to the left into the side of the tunnel opening. The impact rose the back end of the van 5 ft as it came to a crushing stop. The target’s head slammed into the airbag as it deployed as the hunter flew through the windshield into the blackness of the tunnel opening.

…

The radiator steamed and hissed as the horn blared. Sparks flew and the horn died as it shorted out from the steam. The target looked up and shook his head. He was half relieved and half disappointed at the destruction of his van.

“Shows you right” he said as he unbuckled his seat belt.

Bloody hands reached through the steam from the broken windshield and grabbed him by the collar. The hunter pulled the target through bringing him face to bloody face. Grabbing the target by the jaw and shoulder, the hunter wrenched the head sideways. A hard snap confirmed the the kill as the targets body went limp and fell to the tunnel floor.

The hunter found his knife and folded it back into place. He slid it into his leather bomber jacket inner pocket. He limped for a few feet before turning sharply at the waist. His vertebrae snapped into place in a series of pops and his gate corrected as he walked into the night.

SUICIDE NOTE

“Every night you wrote another line with a bloody, broken bottle”

Jim looked down at his hand, now healed from the fight that he had in earlier that evening. His knuckles itched a bit just underneath the skin over the cartilage. The same hand held a lit cigar that made spirals of smoke dancing toward the open window in the one room efficiency that he lived in. He took a short puff and exhaled as he raised a short glass of whiskey to his lips to drink. The alcohol burned his throat for a moment, and then crawled warmly down until it reached his stomach. It simmered there for a bit and he begun to feel it trickle into his blood stream. His face began to numb but then quickly dissipated.

He rested the cigar off the used dinner plate and rubbed his eyes. It rolled a bit before it came to rest next to the clean picked steak bone. He put on his fur lined bomber jacket and grabbed his keys and bumped the bottle of whiskey and sent it falling off of the TV tray. As it shattered he looked down at it. It could have been a metaphor for his life or what he did. Either way he was sick of it. All of the ghosts of the lives he had broken, like the bottle he had to live with; except he could clean up this spill. But he didn’t.

Jim is a collector. If someone owes a debt to his employer, he collects on it. Sometimes its money. Sometimes its bruises, bones or lives. Either way the debt gets paid. “Not my problem…” he used to think.

The pleading faces and desperate screams had long stared to accumulate in his memories, adding up and becoming his problem. This life is going to shit.

He picked up his stogie and put it in his mouth, the earthy taste of the tobacco shocked the tip of his tongue and lips. He paused as he reached the door and looked down at the doorknob. He sighed and gripped it reluctantly as if he was shaking a debtors hand in agreement. After another pause he wrenched the knob clockwise and walked out the door.

Jim breathed in the night air and looked down the dark, wet street. Headlights appeared from a distance. The shape of a car crept from around the corner. The headlights and the car stopped in front of Jim. Jim opened the door and got into the back seat.

SEVEN

“The gods forgot they made me, so i forgot them too”

Steven exhaled an almost orgasmic groan and loosened the tourniquet from around his arm. His “rig” hung loosely from his vein before dropping to the floor beneath the desk chair he sat on. He leaned back as his head rolls back languidly till he was looking at the ceiling. He had a disconnected feeling about him. Very peaceful.

He looked around and saw that Candy had left making him a bit disappointed. She was his best friend and she shouldn’t have taken off like that. It’s always safer to shoot in pairs, just in case something went wrong.

It’s a good thing the other guy came over. What was his name?

Steven leaned back on the bed and stretched. He thought of calling Delila back. They got into a fight and she hung up on him. She was really good for him and he might even give up the junk and go clean cuz she hated it so much. Yeah she’s really cool. He then remembered that he hadn’t even spoken to the other guy yet.

Steven thought he ought to move the guy to the bed so he doesn’t ruin his chair if he happens to vomit.

“Hey man, Lemme help you to the bed so you don’t fall outta the chair, man” Steven said almost in a complete whisper.

The other guy didn’t move. Steven wondered if he had said this out loud or in his head. He was feeling really float now, almost completely numb, but his head was clearing already.

Steven reached out to tap him on the shoulder.

Steven began to remember exactly what had happened. Candy had left and he shot up anyway. Delila had called right before and she told him not to. Something about antidepressants and heroin being a lethal mix. Not that he was on meds. He thought she was just trying to nag him not to start up with the junk again.

Clean for a year and seeing a shrink. Delila was really trying to fix him up. But candy was still hooked and it was really hard to stay clean. Why did she leave? It was her stuff anyway.

Steven looked at the body in the chair. He of course had seen himself a billion times in the mirror but this was different. As if it was more real, more accurate.

A pale, gaunt boy with blue-black hair sat in the computer chair with his head tilted back.

Steven was struck by this and sat down. The phone rang, startling him. He reached to grab it but his hand just passed through it. It rang again. He stood up and looked at his bedroom door that was closed. He decided to try and walk through it.

The phone rang and he jumped again. This time someone answered it. He could hear the voice of his mother from down the hall.

“Steven, its Delila!”

He stood frozen in front of the door. Her voice grew closer.

“Steven! Delila is on the pho…” the door opened and part of it passed through Steven as he was now inches from his mother’s face that slowly contorted itself into a grimace of shock and horror. Steven shrank back into a corner as he watched his mother attempt in vain to revive his dead body.

Steven closed his eyes to hide himself from this all.

CANDY SAYS

“Candy says Ive come to hate my body

And all that it requires in this world

Candy says Id like to know completely

What others so discreetly talk about

Candy says I hate the quiet places

That cause the smallest taste of what will be

Candy says I hate the big decisions

That cause endless revisions in my mind

Im gonna watch the blue birds fly over my shoulder

Im gonna watch them pass me by

Maybe when Im older

What do you think Id see

If I could walk away from me?”

She closed the lid to a small, wooden box and slid it back under her bed. Rubbing her arm where a fres Band Aid was she exhaled a hard sigh tinged with a small shudder. The evening air began to cool as it wafted through her open window that overlooked her quiet suburban neighborhood. The breeze made the translucent white curtains danced like the hem of a party dress.

She stood up and walked to the full length mirror on her closet door. She walked alternating between close ups of her face and full body veiws. Studying her tall, slender frame she inspected every countour and shape beginnig with her ankles going up her legs and thighs, over her abdomen and to her chest and arms. Tears welled up in her already misty blue eyes.

“Hideous.” she thought as mouthed the word to her reflection. Shaking her head in disgust, she walked to her desk. From inside a drawer she pulled out a spiral notebook with her name on it:

CANDY

She opened it to a blank page and wrote today’s date on it. Beneath that she wrote:

BREAKFAST - water, multivitamin, banana and pill.

NO LUNCH

GOAL= lose 15 pounds

She closed the notebook with a feeling of determination and put it back into the desk drawer. She walked over to her bead and put on her large grey sweatshirt and reached behind her head to untuck her hair from inside the collar. Her long blonde locks cascaded down to the middle of her back. She sat down on her bed and pulled on her faded, baggy blue jeans. She slipped on her black and white checkered vans and grabbed her backpack.

She walked down the stairs to the front door. She could hear her mother clicking away at her computer in the study.

“I’m going out for a bit, Mom.” Candy called out.

Her mother nodded as the clicking of the computer keys continued without pause. Candy opened the front door and closed it gently behind her.

Her bicycle was leaning on the edge of the porch railing. Candy took it by the handlebars and guided it down the driveway. Throwing her leg over, she mounted it and began to pedal down her street. The rythmic clicking of the freewheel function as she coasted downhill was soothing to her as was the cooling night air and brought a tiny smile to her face. She started to feel like a bird in flight gliding on the wind. Streetlights began to illuminate as twilight was fading and the evening approached.

She arrived at a small park, got off of her bike and walked it to a bench where she leaned it. She set her backpack down and sat next to it. Unzipping it she pulled out a black sketchbook and a waterbottle. She twisted the cap off of the bottle and took a long refreshing drink. She looked out at the panorama of the park from play area to the surrounding tall trees. Memories of her and Steven as children began to take form like two tiny ghost children frolicking around the jungle gym and see saw. Ghost images of them as teenagers dreaming under the trees popped up.

And there she was now alone in the park without her longtime friend. Her eyes welled up like they had so many times in the last three days. She put her hands to her face and gave in to the sorrow. Her body quaked as she sobbed. A wave of endorphines rushed over her as her tears subsided. She sniffled and wiped her eyes.

As she looked over she was startled by a tall, thin man sitting next to her. She instictively reached for her backpack.

“I’m sorry. I didnt mean to frighten you” he spoke.

Candy smiled nervously and said, “Its ok I should be leaving soon anyway…”

“No, please. There is no need to. I only noticed that you were alone here. This can be a dangerous place for a young lady to be alone.” he replied.

“Oh, I dont care.” Candy said picking up her sketchbook, “you just gave me a little start is all.”

“Understandable.” the man spoke, “Are you an artist? I noticed your book there.”

“Oh just sketches for now” Candy began to flip through the various renderings that filled many pages.

“You are talented, I can tell” the man spoke.

“Thanks, I want to be a fashion designer, so I try to draw as often as I can” Candy smiled as she wiped a veil of tears from her eyes. She was alwyas quick to weep and it embarrased her on more than one occasion.

“Here, let me give you a handerchief” the man said softly. A slight hint of potpourri arose from his pocket as he drew out a white handkerchief. She nodded in thanks as he handed it to her and put it up to her nose. Her brow furowed in confusion at the odd aroma that emitted from it.

The man then clasped his hand firmly over her mouth, nose and handkerchief.

“Breathe deeply, my dear. Breathe deeply”.

TV EYE

“See that cat? Yeah, I love her so.”

Charlotte picked up her head from what she was eating when a car pulled into the alley. She ducked behind the dumpster but could still see what was going on. A stocky man with a bomber jacket and blue jeans got out, smoking a cigar. The man walked around to the driver’s side and motioned for the driver to roll down the window. As the window opened, Charlotte could see the man reach behind his back to draw out a large pistol. The man leaned into the drivers window that had by this time been completely opened said a few words and quickly pointed the pistol at the driver’s head.

Charlotte heard a loud noise…one that she recognized and she sunk further toward the concrete in a panic. she then dashed behind one of the back doors of the building into the night’s shadows. She hesitated but managed to peek out at the man again who had opened the drivers door and dragged the driver out. The man then hoisted the driver into the dumpster where she had been hiding. She then carefully and slowly made her way to the man, who was looking up at the building. He didn’t notice her and he walked around the corner to the front door of the larger building. She followed him.

The man pressed the buzzer and waited. He pressed it again and a voice came out through the tinny speaker.

“What?” a gruff voice asked.

The man replied “its Jim. Lemme in”

“Boss sez you’re late.” the gruff voice said.

Jim replied, “Do I get to go home then?”

“Get up here asshole, the boss aint got time for this”.

The door buzzed and Jim opened it. Charlotte snuck in behind Jim as he walked through the door.

Jim walked up the three flights of stairs with charlotte trailing behind him a few stairs behind. Before Jim got to the top of the third floor, he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a knife. He slid it up his sleeve and walked down the corridor to where a big fat man was waiting.

“Pick up da pace, jimmy boy” the fat man said in a gruff voice “the boss aint too happy right now.”

“Whatsamatter? You forget to suck him off today?” smirked Jim.

“You mutha” was all that the fat man could get out before Jim slid the knife out from his sleeve and slashed it across the fat man’s throat. The fat man coughed a bloody gurgle and fell, writhing to the floor. Jim flicked the blood off of his knife and returned it to his jacket pocket. Charlotte was hiding behind a wastebasket and inched quietly along the wall to where the two men were.

Jim wiped his hands on his jeans and knocked on the door. There was no answer. He paused and then opened the door and walked into the room. Jim made his way through the entryway and opened the other door that opened up to a bigger room. Charlotte slinked through both doors that were slightly ajar.

The room was dark except for a lone figure sitting at desk illuminated by one desk lamp. The man at the desk was an older man and was listening to some soft jazz music.

“James? I didn’t hear you knock. You did knock, yes? Please have a seat and I will give you the information for the next client” the older man said.

“Don’t got time, boss ”said Jim.

“What do you mean? You have only one job tonight” said the boss.

“Nope… I quit.” Jim said plainly.

The boss laughed and said “no seriously James, what is your rush?”

“I mean it. I’m done.” Jim replied.

The boss’ expression sobered. He placed the file that he was holding onto his desk.

“Now, you know that is not an option. You knew when you signed up for this that there was no leaving, you either spend the rest of your days under my employ or you spend them in prison.”

“Ill takes my chances.” Jim said. “Besides… I hear that this operation is falling apart… people are turning up missing… the roster is shrinking.”

The boss then looked puzzled.

“How did you… what makes you say that?”

Charlotte crept in the shadows around the perimeter of the room. She approached the desk behind the boss.

As the boss spoke, he was reached beneath the desk to a hidden slot and produced a revolver. He cocked it and held it pointed underneath the desk at Jim.

“Doesn’t matter… won’t matter in a few minutes.”

“i agree” the boss said and squeezed the trigger three times at jim. jim took two hits in the thigh and one in the torso that made him fall back in a heap.

charlotte flinched and crouched closer to the floor. it was that loud sound again. she let out a soft meow. the boss turned around with the revolver poised for another few rounds.

“oh, its just you charlotte”.

He placed the revolver on the desk and reached down to pick up the small black cat that was staring at him with her big yellow eyes.

“What a strange creature you are. Why do you always stare?

That way? It reminds me of what my grandmother would say… if peoples eyes were the windows to the soul, then cats eyes are the windows for heaven to spy on us with…celestial televisions… is that true charlotte? Do you have TV eyes?”

Charlotte purred as he scratched her back. She could hear the click of a revolver but continued to purr. Three more of the same loud sounds that Charlotte had heard too many times came. This time Charlotte didn’t flinch. The boss’ eyes teared up as his head fell forward.

Charlotte jumped off of his lap and looked up at Jim holding the revolver.

Jim placed the revolver onto the desk and looked down at the blood-spattered folder. He wiped the blood away and read the name.

“Looks like your numbers up... Charlie…”

Charlotte purred and padded slowly to the open window to the fire escape and disappeared into the shadows.

Jim turned and limped out the door rubbing his hand over his chest under his shirt. The lead welt on top of the kevlar was still warm. He coughed as he made his way down the stairs.

He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and reached down to assess the wounds on his thigh. There was still a slug in one and the other was just a tiny furrow of tender flesh beneath the denim.

“Gotta get somewhere and get this slug out.” he thought. Jim coughed again and opened the front door of the building. He could hear sirens in the distance. He took a deep breath and disappeared back into the night.

SO ALIVE

“This drug makes me crazy, makes me see you more clearly and baby now I can see you…”

“Buy the ticket, and take the ride…” Delila whispered into Steven’s ear with a kiss. They were facing each other in near the near darkness of his bedroom lit only by a few candles and a television screen on mute. Steven was cross-legged and Lila kneeling in front of him. “You have to let it work, let it take its course and you’ll feel amazing.”

“Is it like my Dragon?” asked Steven. “Will I get to drift away?”

“No, no, no. That junk works against you, forcing your body into it.” She ran her hand gently down his track-ridden arm.

“Besides I wanna get you off that stuff. Even if you aren’t shooting anymore its really bad for your body. Do this every once in a while and you won’t need to drift away like that anymore. You can drift with me. But lets not focus on that right now. Let’s keep this positive.”

She leans in to kiss him gently on the lips. Their lips meet in a soft tender lock. With one hand he gently cradles her cheek and with the other he cups the back of her head nestling in her soft hair. She responded by slightly opening her mouth while her hips moved in to close the gap between their bodies, laying on top of him.

The kiss would seem to last hours. Delila pulled her head back slowly to better take in Steven’s face. His closed eyes opened and were looking right at her. His pupils had dilated to obliterate all color of the irises. His face seemed to glow in the flicker of the candle and the television screen. The taste of his mint gum lingered was strong and lingered in her mouth seemingly penetrating every centimeter of her tongue. She took in a deep breath. This intensified the feeling.

“You’re right” Steven whispered “I don’t even feel like I am alive. I can feel your breath on my face. It feels like silk. Like snow.”

Her eyes were wide open in amazment and adoration. The red curtain of her hair fell slowly across her face as her contrasting against her pale face and large red lips. Steven reached up to move it away from her eyes.

“You look like an angel,”he whispered. “taking me to heaven.”

She slid to the side off of him chest and laid her head on top of his chest caressing his sides.

“I’ll take you anywhere you want, anywhere you need. Just trust me, you’ll see. She closed her eyes and drifted away.

She woke in a panic. Sitting up, she looked around. Steven wasn’t in the room. Where the hell was he? She stood up and a wave of dizziness washed over her. There was a light coming from the bathroom. She wasnt sure if she wanted to find out what was going on.

With nervous steps she approached the threshold of the bathroom door. Steven was laying in the tub with an aluminum makeshift pipe hanging loosely from his hand. She put her hands to her mouth in terror and ran to him. She held his face with her cold hands and he coughed awake.

“Shit, Lila you scared the fuck out of me,” he exhaled.

“What the fuck, Steven? What the fuck?” She stood up and looked down at him. In a half sob she whispered “You said you would try to stop. You promised.”

“Its not the same, Lila. I got scared. I needed it.” He sat up in the tub.

“I can’t do this anymore… I can’t try anymore.” She turned and walked out of the bathroom, gathered her things and climbed out of his window and left.

…

Delila opened her eyes. The hardness of the floor pressed against her cheek. As she moved her hands to push herself up her right hand slipped on the vomit on the stage floor. Her vomit she figured.

She realized that she was still at school, in the theater lying near a pool of vomit, a broken bottle and a handgun. A wave of relief and regret washed over her as she curled up in a ball and cried.

YOU’RE SO PRETTY

“I could use a girl like you… in my basement”

Aimee slammed the car door shut “Un-fucking-believable”.

She walked to the popped hood of her car and lifted it. Fumbling around for her mini Maglite in the poorly lit school parking lot, she dropped her cell phone into the engine compartment.

“Figures” she whispered as she leaned in searching for her phone.

The sound of a car pulling up made her pull her head from the compartment.

“Hey, you alright there?”

It was Charlie peeking out from the driver side of an old station wagon. “You’re here late aren’t ya?”

Aimee replied, ”i guess.” It was, in fact almost eight and on a school night, dangerously close to being late as far as her parents were concerned. Good thing that according to them, she was supposed to be over at Delilah’s tonight. Aimee tilted her head and asked, “You wouldn’t happen to have a set of cables would you? I think it’s my battery”.

“Sure.” Charlie said as he pulled into the spot next to hers. Charlie looked at her for a moment and smiled as he got out of his car and opened the back hatch.

A feeling of relief came over Aimee as she thought about how nice this guy was and what a waste that he was a janitor at some high school. Oh but these thoughts always got her into trouble. Her head was always in the clouds as her homeroom teacher pointed out constantly. Still he was kind of a hero, right?

“Will these work?” he called out.

Aimee walked around to the back of his car to see what he was asking about.

“Don’t!”

…

Her head was killing her, she knew she was alive but she couldn’t see anything. The pressure on her eyes and nose led her to believe she was blind folded. Her legs were bound and her arms were tied over her head and secured.

Slowly the memory of what happened to her unfolded. She heard Charlie yell something and felt a hand cover her eyes and shove a smelly cloth over her nose and mouth. Then the lights went out.

Her nostrils were still burning but she could tell that she was in a damp, cold place. Sound was muffled. It sounded like music was playing through a thick wall.

She also could tell that she was not alone. There was someone breathing, almost sobbing.

“Hey,” she whispered.

The sobbing broke into heavy labored breathing.

“STOP IT. STOP.” a frightened girl’s voice came in a whispered shriek.

“Calm down. Where are we?” Aimee whispered.

“S-some house. S-some guy’s house. I’ve been here for a couple of days I think. I don’t know. I’m blindfolded most of the time so I can’t really figure it out… The worst part is when he visits.”

Aimee’s heart sunk. “what do you mean?”

“I dont want to talk about it anymore… its almost been long enough for him to visit again…”

“Tell me!” Amiee demanded.

There was silence.

“Aimee? Is that you? Aimee? Its me, Candy.”

THE SPEED OF PAIN

“I want to outrace the speed of pain for another day”

Jim limped along the sidewalk when he noticed the light blue neon lights of a diner up ahead. The slug in his thigh had stopped bleeding and was beginning to hurt even more. This was gonna take some time and a lot of pain to fix.

It was already 9:30 and the streets were filling up with the night life. Not that he was in a popular part of town but there were those out there that might recognize him and start to ask questions. His newly unemployed co workers may not be very forgiving. Jim looked at the window of the diner. It read “Shari’s Pancake House”.

He placed his hand on the push bar and opened the glass door.

This was an old fashioned diner set up with booths and stools at a counter. One could see the cooks through the bay window as they rang a bell signalling the waitress to pick up an order. The smell of bacon cooking and coffee brewing was stron in the air.

Jim surveyed the restaurant on all sides scanning it for any potential threats, something he had become accustomed to doing over time. There was only a couple in a booth and a teenaged girl hovering over a cup of coffee and a plate of french fries. He spotted the restrooms and limped toward them. He shut the door of the men’s room behind him and turned the dead bolt. Finding the large hadicapped stall he sat down and reached into his jacket pocket. From there he drew a silver flask and a stiletto knife.

He popped open the knife, and after taking a drink from the flask he then poured some onto the knife. Jim took a deep breath and pierced the knife into the crevace that the bullet was lodged in. His ears popped with pain as he gently dug out the slug. The distorted bullet rolled off of his leg and fell onto the tiled floor of the bathroom stall. Blood pooled in the wound again and Jim poured more vodka onto it. He then finished it off and pulled out a handkerchief tying it around his leg, over the wound.

He wiped the knife clean closed it and put it back into his pocket. Then he pulled out a cigar and lit it. He felt as if he could sleep there all night. Instead, he stood up, walked out of the stall and went to the sink. He put his flask back into his pocket and turned on the hot water. After he ran his hands under the water he rubbed his face and used his fingers to comb his hair out of his face.

“Good as new,” he muttered to himself.

He paused for a moment to reflect on what he had done tonight before turning away and walking toward the men’s room door. Turning the lock, he opened the door and went back to the bacon and coffee smell.

STEP INTO THE LIGHT

“Step into the light, baby, and see the trouble I’m in.”

Delila breathed in the aroma of her coffee. Grabbing three non-dairy creamers and popped them open, one by one, and then poured them into her cup. It was still too hot to drink but it was comforting just knowing that it was there for her when she was ready.

“That’s the most security I’ve had in my life lately” she tought to herself.

A couple of tears fell out of her large eyes onto the paper placemat where her fries were sitting. She sighed a hurting sigh and took a sip of her coffee. It burned her lips a bit but she needed to clear up. Puking in the theatre had pretty much saved her life. This was better than a stomach pump. That charcoal that they force feed you is horrible.

Even still she had the beginnings of a hangover. The coffee would help. She took a couple of fries and dipped them in the lake of catsup that she had made on one side of her plate. It reminded her of the simpler times of childhood. She doesnt remember being happy, just not as unhappy as she would get as she grew up. So in a way, by contrast, they were happier times.

She came to this retaurant often. Usually with her friends. Not tonight. Aimee was so pissed at her that she left her car at school. Steven was gone. Stupid asshole. She loved him so. Or at least tried to. He was always closer to Candy, who hated her. Maybe she didnt know what love was. Do we ever know?

A man pushed open the door as if he would break it in. He looked rough, like he had been in an accident. He limped toward the bathrooms and disappeared.

“Fuck,” she thought to herself. “it could be worse I guess”.

We never know anyone elses stories. We are always centered on our own troubles and never realize that everyone in one way or another has their own crosses to bear.

Was she still high, or just a tad bit philosophical being so close to death again?

“If he doesnt come out in thirty minutes, I’ll call an ambulance”, she reasoned to herself.

…

“Time for a smoke”, she thought so she got up from the counter and walked out the front door. The street light on the corner was flickering but she could make out a guy trying to get into his car. He had a broken arm and was struggling with his keys.

Why the fuck not? She could give him a hand before she had her smoke. She walked over to here he was, just across the street and said.

As she approached him she said, “Lemme help you out, you look like you’re having some trouble.”

The man turned around and looked relieved.

“Oh yes, thank you so much.”

“It’s cool” Delila replied.

She looked inside his car out of curiosity. Nothing out of the ordinary. She took his keys and opened the door fro him.

“Thanks again”

“No problem, be safe.” she said as she walked back across the street.

She lit her cigarette and stood near the window. Just underneath the flickering light.

“Could I trouble you for a light?”, a voice asked.

A bit startled she looked over to her left.

That guy just came out of nowhere. “Sure,” she said handing him her Zippo. The man flipped open the top and spun the igniter wheel and a flame danced lighting up his face. He looked like some sort of cancer patient. What the hell was asking for a cigarette for?

She told herself she would quit smoking soon.

“Are you waiting for someone? A ride perhaps?”

“Nope, just having a smoke and then back in to finish my coffee”

The gaunt man closed the lighter and put it in his coat pocket.

“Um, thats my lighter.” Delila said. The gaunt man said nothing and smiled.

Jim staggered out of the doorway of the men’s room. The din of muzak and clattering dishes was overpowering at first. He took a deep breath and walked into the main dining area where he saw a busboy and a server looking out at the main entrance. The busboy pointed while the server made her way to the phone near the register. Jim looked out the bay window where he saw a gaunt figure struggling with another figure holding something over its face.

"Shit" Jim muttered and moved quickly to the door.

He shoved it open and saw that it was a girl being attacked by a man.

"Let ’er go!" yelled Jim.

The man smiled and retreated out of the light dragging the unconscious girl with him. Jim stepped forward and was met with a burning sensation on his face.

Through a flash of light he saw that someone had fired a taser at his face. Another bright flash came with a near paralyzing shock in his head that went down his spine. He grabbed the wires and tore them away.

Four more figures emerged from the shadows with electrical wands like cattle prods, thrusting at him. Everything went white in his vision as he collapsed.

A large man in an Italian suit stood over him as two men shocked him over and over.

"Aah, jimmy boy. We found ya. You’re lucky the boss wants you alive." The man snarled.

"Sorry, kid,” thought Jim as he blacked out.

ELYSIUM

“And it’s your heart that’s so wrong mistaken. You’ll never know your feathered sacred self.”

Candy took a deep breath and began to speak. “Three days ago I was at home looking at some old pictures of Steven. They had buried him that day and I was a mess. We were best friends you know. Ever since the 5th grade were were best friends.”

Aimee piped in, “He died because because he ODed on YOUR drugs.”

Candy shook her head and closed her eyes ,”No, I dont do drugs. I always tried to get him to quit and he did for awhile but…”

“Bull” said Aimee “Why is it that you NEVER wear short sleeves and weigh like 85 pounds?”

There was a short pause and Aimee felt a tugging on her blindfold. Aimee’s eyes slowly adjusted and the image of Candy with a black blindfold in her teeth.

Aimee got a good look at the room. It was a dark chamber lit by photo safe red lights, with dripping pipes along the ceiling. The floor was a concrete floor with a drain at the center. Each wall had legs and arm shackles.

Candy was shackled just like she was and dressed in a hospital gown. Aimee discovered that she too was in a hospital gown and barefoot.

But her eyes locked again on Candy. She was looking down but Aimee noticed very clearly, the scars on her arms. Self inflicted slash marks ran up and down them.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” The words came out as soon as she realized how insensitive they were. But it was too late for Aimee to take them back so she tried again.

“I’m sorry… I just don’t get it. And maybe I’m having a hard time sympathizing with you seeing as you hate my best friend and spread lesbian rumours about me.”

Candy was silently sobbing at this point and from behind her own blindfold tears were streaming down her face. She took a stifled breath and said in resignation.

“None of that is true. I don’t hate Delila and I never said that you were a lesbian. Truth be told, I think you both are very pretty, I made some off hand comment on how you were lucky to have someone like Delila so close to you. I envy that in many ways. I envied Stevens relationship with her too. Its a crush I guess. Not on Steven, hes been like my brother all these years. Its always been Delila.”

Aimee stood there in silence and a little bit of shock. She leaned over to Candy as far as she could and strained to reach her blindfold with her teeth and returned the favor paid to her.

Candy blinked. Her blue eyes contrasted the pink tinged whites as it looked as if she had been crying for days.

“I’m sorry. I really am. ” Aimee sounded sincere this time. “Ok, we are in this together so we have to figure this out. How are we going to get out of this?”

“There’s no way out of this. I’ve been here for a couple of days now. The girl before me was taken away for good on her third day. You just got here so you have no idea what is next.”

As Candy continued to explain what was happening to them, on the other side of the door, down the hallway upon wooden floorboards, heavy feet dragged in a semi rhythmic pattern.

A hairy, fat man wearing a stained white V-neck undershirt and grey slacks trudged along the hallway. He pulled out a large key ring and fumbled for the one that he needed. He paused at the door at the end of the hall. Snorting back a large amount of mucous into his mouth and then swallowing it, he found the key, put it into the deadbolt and clicked it counter clockwise.

Candy looked up terrified.

“Oh no. Its time!”

CONVERSATION

“Once I was invisible, for all the world to see…”

“Lila,” a voice whispered n the dark, “don’t panic. I’m here with you. I’ve always been with you.”

“What are you talking about?” Delila thought, “you’re dead.

”Yes Lila, I am. It took me a bit to figure that out. I won’t leave you though, especially since you need me so much right now.”

“I do need you Steven. I am so lost without you. I don’t care about anything anymore. I just want to die so that I could see you again.”

“No Lila. It doesnt work that way. I was lost in the darkness but I found you. But I got lucky.”

The presence of the voice vanished as Delila felt the expanding of her lungs as she took in a breath. Muffled noises surrounded her.

The darkness continued but she began to feel herself in a cognitive space. A heavy pressure weighed on her wrists and her head was killing her. She was tied up and blindfolded.

Gradually her hearing began to clear up and the muffled noise before had become to form words. Her name.

“Lila...Lila…”

In an exhaled whisper Delila asked “Aimee, is that you? Oh my god, what the hell is going on? Where the hell am i?”

Aime whipsered, “we’re in the Basement of some sicko.”

“How? What the fuck?” said Delila.

“All I remember is getting some help with my car from Charlie the janitor…”

“Oh fuck no, we are in that creep’s basement. That sick janitor fuck.”

“No way, I don’t thisnk that he..” Aimee started.

“How do you know?” Delila interjected. “You said it yourself you don’t know how you got here or whats going to happen. You…”

Aimee cut her off, “Candy is here and she knows what is going on. Shes been here for a couple of days already. Ugh, the things that she told me about this place… They just took her away. I dont think she’s gonna come back”.

“Candy?! That backstabbing bitch… I fucking hope she dies. I swear to God I do. She took my Steven away…”

“No Lila. She told me everything. She thinks that shes gonna die. She has nothing to gain by lying to me now.”

Delila’s mood changed. “Fine...tell me whats going on.”

ATROCITY EXHIBITION

“For entertainment they watch his body twitch.”

Jim opened his eyes to a blurry room filled with dull voices and chatter. He looked down and found that his jacket lined with a kevlar vest was gone. The wounds on his leg were healed and all he had was a head ache.

“Oh look who’s awake,” a European voice spoke. “They didn’t hurt you much did they, Jim?”

As his eyes cleared up he surveyed the room: Roughly 25 feet by 30 feet, red carpeting, dark wall paper, false windows with red velvet curtains. A book shelf flanked by twin marble statues of lions behind a large wooden desk. Two men walked toward Jim as if to let him know that they were in charge of keeping him in line. Wooden floorboards creaked with every other step that they took.

The man behind the desk stood up. He was gaunt and tall and dressed in a fine white linen suit and was smoking a cigarette. “Not that pain is really relevant to you seeing as you cannot be harmed permanently by any conventional means.” He put the cigarette out in a large red class ashtray and walked around to the front of the desk. “Sascha and Erich and their men brought you to me at my request.”

“Who the hell are ya? And why should I care?” Jim said as he sat up. The two men tensed and stopped walking. “What’s wrong, I make ya nervous?”

“They won’t hurt you, they are just being cautious. Your show downtown with your former employer didn’t go unnoticed.” The man spoke again. You see, even the slightest of pebbles, when droppped into a lake, makes a ripple.”

“I figured I’d get some sort of a reaction from some of my associates but, I don’t even know who you or your boys are. You the competition?” Jim asked.

“Ah yes of course, no we aren’t the competition. My name is Vincent and ultimately you work for me. I employed your Boss, your Boss emplyed you, I employ you. You see how that works?

“Aint no more Boss. So I don’t see how this matters unless you are pissed cuz I shut down operations for ya. Cleaners were dropping left and right as it was anyway. I just beat y’all to the punch.” Jim said.

“Jim, I had no intention to punish you for anything. We are actually please that you took care if a majority of the cleaning for us. Your Boss was making himself some money that he wasn’t reporting. Greed always is the downfall of the overzealous.” Vincent spoke as he inspected his fingernails. Jim paused for a moment and replied.

“So your way of thanking me is to knock me out with tasers or whatever and drag me to your little hideout with Ping and Pong here standing over me?

“I brought you here because I want to make you an offer. “ vincent walked back to his desk and made a swipe with his index finger and looked at it and rubbed his finger and thumb together. “We want to give you a promotion. Make you the Boss of that operation downtown. You would have your own crew working under you and I really would never be involved in your operations unless things went awry… You strike me as a man who doesn’t take orders very well. You are a leader. Those like you and I have earned our place at the top of the food chain.”

“Why don’t you have one of these guys do it? Its not a big operation to run.” Jim said.

“Hmmn. Well its a little bigger than you think, Jim. You see, Sascha heads up the Prostitution Sector. Erich is in charge of Drug trafficking. Philip and Thomas who are on the other side of the door run Gambling and Money Laundering respectively. And you James, would be in charge of Cleaning.” Vincent opened a cabinet an took out a bottle and two glasses. “I oversee it all as well as run the Internet Business.”

“and what is that, interior decorating?” Jim smirked.

Vincent smiled and said,

“Millions of internet users log on to various websites daily for various purposes. Online catalogs, Multimedia downloads are rapidly becoming larger pieces of the commercial pie, so to speak. And the majority of that Internet commerce is pornography. Its a new venture for us so I personally take a direct interest in it. Plus, it feeds my appetites. We stand out by catering to a more discern ing taste. We aren’t what one would call mainstream. We do simulated torture, starvation and mutilation. We market it as simulation but afficionados of the craft can see that it is very real. And no one wants to blow the whistle and ruin everyones fun. A live feed only raises the interest and thereby making us more money.”

Vincent reached into his pocket and drew out a small remote and pointed at the wall as a white screen descended from the ceiling. With another click the screen flickered and on the screen was a girl, probably in her late teens early twenties. Her hair was long and blonde and she was wearing a hospital gown. She was blindfolded and her wrists and ankles were tied to large metal loops on a white tiled wall. The floor was concrete with a drain. The girl whimpered in fear with every sound. Music began to play. A melancholy violin sang as she writhed in terror. She seemed to know what was going to happen.

Then a tall gaunt figure dressed in a red velvet robe entered the scene. The flourescent lights flickered as he approached her. It was Vincent. He slowly reached to touch her on the cheek and she squealed and recoiled at his touch. He removed her blindfold and she let out a scream. He softly shushed her with an index finger to her lips. She still seemed to scream but it was silent. Her eyes were wide with fright. He gently pulled her hospital gown off of her, unsnapping the buttons one by one. He stepped back as a mist of water sprayed over her. The lights in the scene flickered again giving a strobe like effect. He produced a soft white towel as the mist stopped. He gently patted her dry with the towel and she shivered a bit. It was hard to tell if the shivering was due to cold or fear. He then touched her neck gently with his hand and closed the distance between them. He kissed her lightly on the cheek and then again on the neck. The lights began to flicker once more as he bit down into her flesh. Intermittently blood spraying onto the white tile could be seen. And then the screen went dark.

Jim looked at him angrily and asked “So these girls know what they are getting into and go for it anyway?”

Vincent smiled.“If it were voluntary, it wouldn’t be as sweet. I find them myself, I prepare them myself and I carry out the entertainment myself. I want the web-audience to feel the excitement similarly as I do.”

He looked at his watch. “As a matter of fact, I must go downstairs and get started. We have viewers to please you know.” He began to walk toward the door and then turned to Jim.”Think about our offer.” He nodded to Sascha and Erich. “See that he is on board otherwise, he leaves in pieces.” Sascha and Erich nodded almost in unision.

Vincent knocked and the door opened. He passed through, into the darkness behind it and the door closed behind him.

Sascha and Erich stood staring at Jim.

“Whats a matter? The Big Boss ain’t here ta talk for ya?” Jim smirked. “Y’all are a bunch of freaks.”

“No more than you James.” a voice tinged with German emitted from Sascha’s mouth. “We know who and WHAT you are.”

“We also know you make your own rules, aside from the very basic ones of course” spoke Erich with a slight Scandinavian accent. “It really is more than just working for Vincent. It is about creating a union. We have been wanting to put one of our kind in place of prominence for quite some time now. You provided the opportunity and the solution. You’ve been alone for a very long time, running from place to place. You belong here. What we do with homo sapien is nothing more than what THEY to to animals. Pets, cattle, sport. That all animals are to them. What makes them different? Heightened reason? Heightened motor skills? Or is it just the survival of the fittest that puts them at the top of the food chain? If the latter is the case, then we are certainly at the top of the food chain, above the homo sapien.”

“Damn, Erich.” Jim said “If I knew you were just gonna ramble on, I wouldn’t have said anything.”

Jim sat for a bit and spoke. “Ya know, why don’t we have a drink on it? Get something strong from your bosses bar over there and we will celebrate.”

Erich and Sascha looked at each other and Sascha nodded and said “Certainly, James.”

Erich walked over to the bar and produced a green bottle and three short glasses. He filled them each halfway with the absinthe and carried them over to Jim and Sascha.

“Thanks, Chief.” Jim took the glass in one hand and put a cigar in his mouth. With the other hand he lit the cigar. Jim raised his glass as did the other two who were standing in front of him. “To Vampires!” he said “May we all Burn in hell! He took the entire contents of the glass into his mouth and with the lighter still lit. He spit the absinthe out in a wide spray causing a huge fireball from his mouth and lighter. The fireball ignited the other two glasses as they spilled from the hands of the Sascha and Erich. They immediately began to go up in flames as Jim took the glass he was holding and shoved it into Erich’s eye socket. Erich let out a loud scream as Jim then reached for his knife that wasn’t there.

“Shit.” he said. As he then simply slashed though Sascha’s throat with his other hand removing his trachea. Sascha gurgled and fell to the floor still aflame. Erich was also still on fire but was waving madly at his face and trying to get at Jim. The two other vampire burst through the door and Jim kicked Erich into one of them tripping him for a second.

The other vampire lunged at him with a short sword. Jim sidestepped this atttack and grabbed the arm with the sword. He twisted the arm and snapped it as the sword fell blade first into the floor, sticking into it. Jim then let go of the broken arm and pulled the sword out and sliced upward toward the other vampire who was now leaping toward him. At the end of the slice the vampire’s right arm fell off as did the right side of his head. Jim then walked over to the vampire whose arm he broke, who was now kneeling over his arm. With the cigar still in his mouth he exhaled a large puff of smoke and raised the sword over his head and chopped off the vampires head, spraying blood onto the walls. Jim then walked over to the smoldering embers of Sascha and kicked his skull that exploded in a cloud of ash. He looked down at the glass surrounded by Erichs ashes. He tapped the ashes off of his cigar into them and smirked. “Yeah, vampires are a flammable bunch.” Sword in hand, Jim walked through the open door into the darkened stairwell.

STATIONS

“Oh mama ain’t no time to fall to pieces. He has arrived.”

Delila’s nose was bleeding as she held the crying Aimee. The body odor of that fat, hairy man still lingered in the air several minutes after he left with Candy. Delila looked at Aimee.

“C’mon. Let’s suck it up. Who knows how long that fat shit is gonna be gone.” Aimee rubber her eyes and nodded.

“How did you get your hands free?” Aimee asked getting to her feet.

“I dislocated my left thumb when I was riding my skateboard back in middle school. I can pop it in and out of place whenever I want to now” Delila smiled “plus those ropes were really old.”

“I can’t believe that he just hit you in the face like that. I’m so scared, what are we going to do? We are in hell and we are going to die...” Aimee started.

“Shut up.” Delila interrupted, “we are gonna get out of this...some how.”

Delila looked around the room for anything that she could use as a weapon. In the corner of the very dim room she noticed a cabinet. She motioned to Aimee. Amiee walked over and said.

“Don’t open it. I have a bad feeling that…”

Delila opened the metal door to find random women’s clothing.

Delila grabbed a blouse and a some pants and tossed them to Aimee. She got some for herself too.

“Put ‘em on. We’re getting out of here.” said Delila.

As Aimee put the clothes on she asked, “but what about Candy?!”

“I’m sorry but there is nothing that can be done now. That guy took her. For all we know she’s already dead.”

“We can’t leave her, Lila. We can’t and you know it..”Aimee insisted.

Delila let out a big sigh. “I know. Ok we’ll try and get her. I don’t fucking know how, but we will do something.”

Delilah looked and saw another door. She and Aimee walked over to it. Delila hear a “no.” whisper and she glared as if annoyed at Aimee. She grabbed the knob and turned it. She squinted in the dim light as her and Aimee leaned further to see what might be there.

The pale face of Charlie the custodian came into focus. Both girls recoiled in shock.

“omigodomigodomigodomigod…” Aimee stammered. She buried her face as Delila held her tight.

Delila joked, “I guess he wasn’t a creep after all.”

“Thats not funny! Poor guy..” Aimee said in a near weep. “Let’s get the fuck away from this place.”

Delila nodded reassuringly.

“He’s coming.” a close whisper sounded in Delila’s ear.

“Huh?, Aimee HIDE!.” Delila dashed toward the door as she heard the jingle of a keys. Aimee hid around the corner. Delila slowly slipped off her belt and took it in both hands.

A loud mucousy cough came from the other side of the door. The jingling stopped as the metal scraping of a key going into the deadbolt then clicking, penetrated the tense silence. The knob turned and the door opened. Closing it behind him the fat greasy man stepped into the room. At that, Delila jumped on his back looping the belt around his neck and pulled back twisting on the belt.

The fat man’s arms flailed about trying to get to Delila. He backed into the wall to try and crush her. Delila remained locked on holding tightly onto the belt, tears forming in her eyes. The fat man reached into the front of his pants and pulled out a pistol. Aimee screamed and ran toward him. He put the gun up to where Delila might be and Aimee reached for his arm. The three of them struggled, Delila on his back, Aimee on his arm and the fat man with the two girls on him. Then there was a shot.

Blood and skull flew everywhere as they all fell to the floor. Aimee startled as she got up.

“Lila! Lila! Omigod are you ok?”

“Get this fat tub off of me.” Delila groaned. They both struggled and managed to get the fat headless man off of her.

Delila’s face was covered in blood and brains as she tried her best to wipe it clean. “This is some vile, repugnant shit.” Aimee handed her another shirt from the cabinet and Delilah.

“Ok now we need to see if we can find Candy and get away.” Delila said. She stood up and dropped the bloody shirt to the floor.

“Get the gun.” she told Aimee.

Aimee asked ”Why me?”

“Cuz your dad’s a cop. Plus he used to take us to the range all the time. I sucked but you were really good.”

“Fine”. Aimee bent down and grabbed the pistol. Delila and Aimee walked carefully through the exitting door.

The floor boards creaked as they made their way down the dark hallway. Muffled music bled through the walls grew louder as they went further. Light peeked out from under the door at the other end and it seemed that it was the source of the strange music. It flickered and then it came back.

Delila motioned for Aimee to follow her to the door. They were near the door jamb like a couple of police officers from television. Delila took the doorknob and twisted it. It was unlocked. She slowly pushed it open. The music was a loud tribal type with low bass and rhythmic percussion. A sort of chanting was in the mix somewhere.

Delila and Aimee slowly walked in to find a sound stage type of a set with white tiles and a drain and Candy! The light were high around where Candy was but dim everywhere else. The lights flickered in a strobe light effect and the shape of another person was visible. Delila and Aimee crept further into the room, closer to the set. And hid behind a couple of audio monitors. Delila looked around and saw cameras on the ceiling and floor moving on their own. There was no observation type window so she figured that they were robotic motion sensitive ones.

The figure was in a red velvet robe and when the lights stopped flickering she realized that it was the same thin man who took her from in front of the diner. A mist of water sprayed as the lights flickered again. The thin man walked toward Candy and touched her cheek.

“Aimee, that’s the guy that kidnapped me. He probably took you too and killed Charlie.” Aimee’s brow furrowed and she stood up and began towards the set.

“What the fuck? No!” Delila said in a loud whisper. As Aimee moved she kicked out an audio plug from one of the monitors.

She held the gun with both hands as the music sputtered out.

“Get away from her!” Aimee screamed as she pointed the gun at Vincent. Vincent stopped and turned his head slowly to look at Aimee. He smiled and said,

“Really my dear, wait your turn. I’m almost done here.”

Aimee cocked the gun and said, “I’m a perfect shot and I’m screwing around here.” The lights began to flicker again as Vincent turned his body to walk toward her.

“Stop, I mean it!” Aimee called. Delila snuck over to another monitor to get closer to Candy. Vincent walked closer and closer and his smile revealed elongated canine teeth.

The lights stopped flickering and the door flew open with a kick.

Aimee turned and fired three shots into a stocky man in a bomber jacket. The man in the bomber jacket took a hit in the shoulder and two in the chest and spun around hitting the floor.

Delila had made it to Candy with enough time to see Aimee turn and shoot somebody. She was also able to see thin man lunge for her. With a swoop of his hand he slashed through her blouse into her flesh in a stream of blood the flew through the air. Aimee screamed as he pounced on her. Her screams soon ended

Delila put her hand up to Candy’s mouth to muffle her scream while she grit her teeth to keep hers in. She began to untie Candy from the wall as quick as she could. The lights began to flicker again. Vincent turned back toward Candy and Delila mouth dripping with Aimee’s blood.

“That was delicious… but I could go for some more…” The fragmented image of him grew as the light strobed and got closer.

Another figure appeared behind Vincent with a sword held high. The lights stopped flickering and the sword came down. From the right shoulder to the left side of Vincent’s waist the blade drew a path that was followed by a spray of blood that covered that part of the soundstage. Vincents body buckled and fell into two pieces freezing a shocked expression on his face.

Candy was free now and Delila held her close as they walked toward the door.

Delilah got a good look at Jim. She thought for a moment and then spoke.

“I saw you at the diner earlier. You were pretty banged up.”

“Saw you too,” Jim said, “right when this creep attacked you… I got there too late when his goons got me.”

“She’s dead isn’t she?” Delila looked down at Aimee.

“Yup,” Jim said taking off his kevlar lined jacket, “Sorry kid. Sure was a good shot though.” He handed the jacket to Candy. Go on and cover up. Ya look like yer freezin’.” Jim knelt down to pick up the pieces of Vincent. “I recommend you call the cops or an ambulance or something. I gota make sure he doesnt heal up and come back. Its gotta end here. Its all gotta end no matter what.” He looked at Delila, “Tell as many people you can about what went on here. This has gotta end…”

Jim began to walk out the door with Vincents body and most of his torso dragging behind.

Delila in tears called out to him, “Where are you going?”

“To the roof, its almost unrise and I gotta fry this guy before he starts to heal up.” Jim replied. “Like I said call the cops. They’ll take care a y’all.”

“Thank you.” Candy spoke finally. “We owe you so much.”

“Sorry ‘bout your friend.” Jim left.

39

“The fire is almost out and there’s nothing left to burn.”

A wooden door on a rooftop opened. The sky was already fading from indigo to a cerulean. Jim emerged dragging two parts of a body. The rooftop had various air conditioners and tarps as well as abandoned furniture scattered about. Jim tied the bulk of the dead vampire’s body to an air conditioner. With the sword Jim pinned the rest of the torso and head to the roof. Witnessing this all were two figures peeking out from the doorway of the stairwell that led to the roof.

“We should leave.” Candy whispered.

Delila whispered back, “I have to see what’s going to happen. I need to see that vampire die for good.”

The sky began to brighten as Jim’s eyes began to burn with dryness.

He took out a cigarette case and pulled out a small cigar. He lit it as he looked out over the waking city.

The torso stirred. Vincents eyes were blood red and he used his left arm to push against the blade tearing a furrow to the edge of the slice. Jim darted to stop it. Tendrils from beneath the stump seemed to reach out to find the rest of it. Jim held the head down with one hand and the wrist down with the other. The dying vampire’s mouth angrily hissed at him as the first rays of a new day pierced the sky.

The shadows that sheltered Jim and Vincents torso began to shrink. The sun caught Vincent’s body and it began to blister and peel. A blue flame surrounded it as it became ash and blew away in the morning breeze.

As the morning sun fell on Jim’s back he felt weak as if consumed by a fever. Vincent’s face contorted in horror and his open, gurgling mouth turned black. He began burning from inside of his skull like a dying cigarette and the ash and embers finally burned away the white flesh that covered it.

Jim was on fire now and his hair and clothing was burning away.

“No!” Delilah shouted and she tried to leave the safety of the stairway.

“Lila stop! He said he was going to finish it. Let him.” Candy’s voice stopped Delila in her tracks where she was witness to the death of one vampire and the sacrifice of another.

WAKE UP DEAD MAN

“Tell me. Tell me the story the one about eternity and the way it’s all gonna be”

Vincent’s torso collapsed into ash and Jim’s arms buckled over the remains. His barely recognizable body was covered in a veneer of smoldering charred flesh. He was more skeleton now than anything else like the burnt remains of Pompeiian victims.

“Oh Candy, we have to do something with his remains. We owe him that.” Delila spoke finally.

“I know, but what about Aimee?” Candy asked.

“Candy, she’s my best friend and I love her, but theres no way we are gonna be able to explain any of this. Lets get this guys body out of here and figure out what we are going to do. You’ve been missing for a couple of days as it is.” Delila told her.

“Ok… Lila, we have a lot to talk about. I think you have the wrong idea about me…” Candy started.

“Aimee told me everything.” Delila spoke. “but we can talk about that later.”

Delila motioned for Candy to help her with a tarp. They wrapped up Jim’s body that took on the appearance of a mummified corpse and carried him down the stairs. He didnt weigh more than his Kevlar jacket that was still around Candy.

Delila got some clothes for Candy and they found the back door of the building. They carried Jim’s corpse into the back alley. Delila looked down the alley and saw her car.

“What the fuck?” Delila put it all together. They weren’t but a block from Shari’s Diner. Delila ran down and got into her car. She found her spare key under the floormat. She drove down the alley to where Candy and Jim were. Opening her door, she got out and helped Candy put Jim into the trunk.

Delila thought she heard that whisper again. “The pier”

Candy got in and and put on her seatbelt. Delila got in and started the car. Even though the morning was coming into full bloom, the streets were still empty. They drove down to the pier to a closed off side of the dock. They got out and pulled Jim’s remains out of the trunk and carried him to the edge of a broken dock.

ALL WE EVER WANTED WAS EVERYTHING

“The sound of the drum has called. Flash of youth shoot out of

darkness ”

Delila looked to her left. She couldnt shake the feeling that somehow Steven was still there with her like she felt him in that damned building. She took in a deep breath and as she let her breath go, she let him go.

Delila looked at Candy and and said,”You and I lost someone very special in Steven. We both lost Aimee when she tried to save us and now we lost the person who did save us. We don’t even know his name.”

Candy said, “His name was James Halloway. Its in his jacket here.”

“We can’t keep that. You know that.” Delila said.

“I know.” Candy took off the jacket and put it over the tarp. Delila and Candy then pushed Jim and his jacket into the dark, slimy water.

“We have each other to take care of now.” Delila told Candy and she nodded in agreement.

“Lila, Steven loved you very much.” Candy said.

“Thanks, he loved you too.” Delila said.

Delila walked over to a payphone and dialed 9-1-1.

EPILOGUE

Jaekov stopped talking as a Bauhaus song was ending. He lit another cigarette. Phaelyx was almost bursting with questions. He looked around and just about all the patrons were gone.

“Jacob…” Phaelyx began.

“Yes Felix…” Jaekov was looking out over the sea.

“Are they going to be alright?”

“Who, Felix?”

“Candy, Delila… any of them.”

“They are just stories Felix.”

“None of it was real?!” Phaelyx shouted.

“What is real? What has really come to pass? Are we real? And how do you know?”

Phaelyx sighed and looked defeated.

The young blonde dreadlocked girl walked up again.

“You two need another refill?” she asked.

Jaekov nodded and the girl turned away.

Phaelyx caught the name on her apron.

It read Kandee.

Alvarado New Dawn Fades