The Loners Ch. 13

When all nine Vampire Lords gathered for their video conference, it was Lord Constantine, Lord of Eastern Europe, who began with a laugh. Lord Christian hated Lord Constantine's laugh the most, considering what his appearance and voice was.

"My my, little Miss Rachel is giving you two a hard time isn't she?" Lord Constantine said with a smile.

"That's only because the information I've been going on is false. I was under the impression that she was just a low life thug. Lord Caleb, I would appreciate it if you gave us more accurate information in the future." Lord Christian said, eyeing Lord Caleb.

"She is a nothing! Just a little bitch running around pretending that she has a dick, nothing more!" Lord Caleb shouted.

Lady Helen, Lord of Western Europe, sighed. "Give it a rest will you? I know you arrogantly think that all women belong in the kitchen cooking for you, but that's simply not true. I, along with the other ladies present should have proven that to your narrow minded ass by now. Or would you like a repeat of the last war we had?"

Lord Caleb remained silent at this. Although he had remained in power, he had suffered devastating losses at the hands of the other female Lords when he had tried to move against them. In the end, he was forced to begrudgingly accept them as his equals, though he didn't like it.

Lord Constantine spoke again. "Come on guys, can't we all just get along?" He said with a laugh.

Lord Hector, Lord of Africa, sighed. "Lord Constantine, I understand that your mind has never fully matured in a normal manner, but please, can't you act like an actual Lord once in a while?"

"Hey, I'm just trying to make light of things. Life is no fun if you take everything so seriously all the time." Lord Constantine laughed.

"Enough!" Lord Richter, Lord of South America, declared. "The point of this gathering was to discuss the actions of Caleb Rachel the Third, along with both Lord Caleb and Lord Christian's incompetence in handling the situation. The humans are already in an uproar over what has happened, and I find it humiliating that I've received calls from their governments asking whether or not I had a hand in this."

The news had spread like wildfire. Ten brutal cop killings simply could not be covered up completely. It was true that details of what precisely had happen could be hidden, but the ten lives lost could not be kept secret, despite the best efforts of the clean-up crews. Each major human intelligent agency that operated in the shadows had them, whether it be the CIA, FBI, the former KGB, the list went on. Some of them were humans, while others were vampires, though the exact numbers of vampires were unknown even amongst the humans who operated or even led the agencies.

The funding for these elements came from the human government's black budgets, along with the money that was made by the vampires through their underground networks. These deals were made through a harsh series of agreements and deals that were altered time and again as technology continued to spread throughout the world.

This tied in with another reason why the existence of the vampires had been kept secret, blackmail. Since vampires were the masters of the shadows, their services were utilized several times by humans throughout history. If discovered, nearly all of history from the human's perspective could be rewritten.

Julius Caesar's assassination, the near impossible victory by the Greeks over the Persians, and the JFK assassination. These were just a few incidents that the vampires had a direct or indirect hand in, the specific details of these events 'lost' as time passed. The records kept by the vampires concerning these incidents would be a conspiracy theorist's wet dream, and the release of these documents would cause chaos across the known world as history would almost be completely redefined.

The blackmail, however, didn't go one way. Since vampires were very few in number when compared to the humans, they acknowledged that, despite their great powers and abilities, a full out war against all humans would cost them dearly. It might even be one that they would lose. In the end, if both sides turned against one another, both sides concluded that it would lead to nothing but destruction and chaos, adding yet another motive on why the truce and secret had held up for so long.

"I don't think there's anything to discuss at this point. Several of my Greaters have already been sent to America to catch the girl and the humans, and I intend to come to America myself." Lady Pandora, Lord of Southeast Asia, spoke.

"That is a direct violation of the agreement! Is it your wish to start another war, Lady Pandora!" Lord Christian boomed.

"And you are in violation of failing to act as a Lord. Both you and Lord Caleb have been unable to handle this situation on your own, so we must take action and clean this mess up before you two ruin everything." Lady Pandora calmly responded.

"Lord Christian is correct, to an extent. I can see why you would send your own, but I cannot see the reason for you to go to America personally." Lord Issac, Lord of the Middle East, responded.

"I agree with Lady Pandora. The fact that we Vampire Lords are even having a video conference over such a small situation proves that you and Lord Caleb are not capable of handling this affair on your own. It's only fair that we step in before things get out of hand, if they already aren't." Lady Francine, Lord of Asia, followed with.

"I agree with both Lady Pandora, and Lady Francine. As a matter of fact, I'm thinking of coming to America to meet the girl and human myself. I want to know what the fuss is really all about." Lord Constantine responded.

Lord Christian's fist tightened at this. He knew it was going to come to this, as Lord Hector and Lord Issac agreed to that course of action. All of the Lords were going to openly send their forces to America. Not only would this reduce his chances of finding the girl and killing her himself, but it also would put the other Lords in decent positions to undermine his own power.

Lord Caleb was also frustrated for the same reasons, along with the fact that he had been undermined by three women once again. Fucking women! They belonged in the fucking kitchen as slaves along with the rest of the useless races. He really wished Hitler had won World War 2 when he had the chance. A series of unfortunate mistakes, along with the intervention of several Lords and the previous Dracula had prevented this.

Luckily, no other Lord had ever figured out that he, Lord Caleb, had managed to kill the previous Dracula. Although he could not beat him in a direct fight, like all sentimental fools, he had a weakness that Lord Caleb had exploited.

And it was the same for these three. Lord Caleb now knew how he could hurt them. And he will. Oh yes he will, and once he did, they will come to him.

*****

Alan and Rachel barely spoke a word to each other, their argument still fresh in their minds, even though the sun had already risen. Katie hadn't said anything either as she drove, making it a very silent several hour drive. She had already said her piece, and she wanted to avoid starting another argument.

They had already stopped and switched cars, with Rachel killing yet another unfortunate individual. She had also taken the time to swap out her clothes with the individual, although her new clothes were a little big on her. What bothered Rachel about this one, however, was the fact that Alan had said nothing. Katie had shown the apprehension that Rachel expected, but not Alan. She wondered if it was happening, and that he was beginning to descend into darkness.

However, at the moment, she really couldn't care less on what he thought. His words earlier were a low blow. A very strong and low blow that had hurt.

Alan's mind swirled with all of the recent events. All along, the woman that he thought he had fallen in love with had turned out to be an almost completely different individual then he had imagined. Once again, he had jumped the gun, and assumed too much. Although he knew that he was wrong to doubt her feelings for him, a part of him felt that he wasn't.

She had told him that she would share everything with him. Yet clearly, she did not. Even still, Alan's feelings towards her had not changed. He was bitter and angry at her for hiding such important details, but, this was still Rachel. There was another problem though, Alan began to realize.

When she had killed the unfortunate bystander earlier to change cars, Alan noticed that he felt almost no concern or pity for the individual. He was getting used to it. He was getting used to be surrounded by death, and it make him think of something.

"...Rachel..." Alan finally spoke, breaking the long standing silence as he stared out the window

Rachel said nothing, staring out the opposite window herself.

"You said...you didn't want me to descend into your darkness, right?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Is that the real reason you refused to turn me?"

Rachel turned to Alan, who hadn't moved. Her eyes lowered, and she returned to the window. "...yes."

"I see..." Alan drifted in thought. He knew what he needed to say. The only reason that she had lied to him was to try and protect him. She wasn't deliberately trying to hurt him.

"Rachel...what I said was wrong...and...I'm sorry for that."

This time, both Rachel and Alan turned, and met one another's eyes. They both then turned away from each other at the same time.

"It's...okay. We're all pretty stressed, and I guess I'd be upset if you lied to me too..."

"So, what now?" Alan asked.

Rachel remained silent for a few moments before answering. "Most likely, the other Lords will be coming after us now. After the incident at the motel, there's little doubt that they will see us as a menace that has to be eliminated. Even if the clean up crews come and wipe away the evidence of the incident, the Lords probably know for sure who we are now."

Rachel then turned to Katie. "We should stop at a store somewhere and pick up some hair dye with the cash we still have, so we aren't as easily noticed. Can you plug that into the GPS?"

"Yeah, sure." Katie did so.

"Okay...where are we anyways?" Rachel asked.

"We crossed the border to Wyoming a little while ago." Katie responded.

"Alright. You've been driving for a while, so we can switch when we stop. I'll take the next drive." Rachel said next.

Finally, a real plan. Katie thought to herself. For a while, she had been just aimlessly driving, with no plan or destination.

They drove on until they reached the new destination the GPS told them, which was a mall.

"Not the best of locations for us to try and get some shopping done." Rachel sighed.

"Okay, Katie, you'll be going in. I'll be with you, but I'll also be invisible to everyone except you, in case we run into trouble. Alan, you stay here in the car. Since the cops that caught us at the motel knew about you, more people will be on the lookout for you in particular. Katie will not be as easily recognized." Rachel said.

"Cool. I'm not a fan of shopping anyways." Alan responded, still leaned up against the window.

Rachel willed herself to be invisible as Katie got out of the car. Rachel climbed over the seats to exit through the door that Katie used.

"Oh, open the trunk. If we do run into trouble, I want to have a weapon on me. Also, let's make sure there's no one nearby." Rachel informed Katie, who after a moment of examination, did so.

"Pretend you're going through the trunk so it doesn't look too suspicious, I'll do the rest." Rachel said to Katie, who moved to do just that. Rachel climbed into the trunk and pulled out two pistols to put in her pockets, along with extra magazines.

"Okay, we're all set." Rachel said as she climbed out, and Katie closed the trunk.

"Try not to have too much fun Alan." Katie called out to Alan, who waved in a dismissive manner. Katie smiled. At least they were somewhat going back to normal.

"We'll be back soon. And don't fall asleep, in case there is an emergency." Rachel informed Alan.

"Yeah, sure." Alan sighed, and the two girls walked off, leaving Alan with his thoughts in the car.

Alan yawned, hoping that this wouldn't be a long wait. Well, at least now he could more clearly focus on his thoughts, now that he was alone.

As he thought about the situation, he was curious about why he wasn't panicking. After all, they were on the run for their lives, and he had just more or less witnessed a rather large shoot out last night. Instead, he felt entirely calm about it. Even more interesting was the fact that Katie seemed very calm about it as well.

Shouldn't either of them be depressed about this situation? Well, maybe he had a slight advantage. Alan had joined the Corps at the height of the Iraq War, ready to join the battlefield with the rest of the troops. He also had military training and discipline, which was probably helping him cope with this.

However, Katie had none of that. She was just a regular college student. Yet, she was handling this rather well. Alan didn't think it was a bad thing, he was just curious about it. Maybe it was her confidence in the both of them. Alan shrugged his shoulders, thankful that Katie was a much stronger person than one would expect her to be.

His thoughts then drifted to Rachel. Just how should he feel about her now, know who she really is? Does her crimes and actions in the past make her beyond redemption? It was different when he thought that she had only killed because she had to feed. The truth, however, was that she had killed simply to gain attention. Although she isn't like that anymore, that is still the truth.

"Just what the fuck should I do?" Alan asked himself out loud. His heart told him to stay with Rachel, and to forgive her. His brain, however, wondered whether or not she could be forgiven for what she's done. In the end, though, he knew his answer. Despite her past, Rachel had become his life. More than that, she wasn't her past self anymore. And lastly, as she hoped, maybe he could help her find redemption, and free her from her past.

Unfortunately, given the situation, that seems to be a far off dream. Alan thought about what Rachel said, that she was dragging him into her darkness. It certainly was a true and powerful statement, but, he wondered if there was more to it. He wondered if Rachel was also falling into darkness. Well...if that was the case, then maybe the only thing he can do is follow in after her, and together, they can live in the darkness. Katie had seemingly made that choice, and hasn't tried to bail, so he should as well.

Alan's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the window. Alan turned to see a short boy with brown hair and brown eyes staring up at him. Alan wondered how this little seven to ten year old boy had managed to sneak up without him noticing. Then again, he had been pretty spaced out.

Alan rolled down the window. "Excuse me mister." The child began. "But, I think you look familiar."

Oh boy, I certainly hope not. Alan thought to himself. "Sorry, but I'm not whoever you think I am." Alan replied.

The child tilted his head. "Really? So you're not Phil Hughes?"

Alan held back a laugh. The Yankees pitcher? Wow...how did he come up with that?

Alan shook his head. "Sorry, I'm not Phil Hughes. No, my name's Alan, what's yours?" He responded, forgetting that he was now a wanted fugitive that people were looking for.

The boy giggled. "My mom says that I shouldn't tell strangers my name."

Uh...I thought the saying was that he shouldn't talk to strangers at all? Alan thought to himself. "Where is your mother?"

"Not here." The boy responded.

"Where is she?" Alan asked again. The kid was cute, but, he wondered what his mother is going to say upon seeing him talking to a stranger.

"Not here." The boy repeated a second time. Alan sighed. Why are kids so difficult?

"What about your dad?" Alan asked next.

"He's not here either." The boy responded.

Figures. "Who are you here with?"

"No one."

"Really? Surely you must be with someone that brought you here."

"Nope."

Alan rolled his eyes. What is with this kid?

"Look, uh, whatever your name is. You should go back to whoever it is that you came here with, I'm sure they're worried about you."

The boy giggled. "They'll be fine, I can take care of myself."

Alan sighed. This kid is being really difficult.

"Well, is there anything you want?" Alan asked.

The boy pulled out a yo-yo. "Want to see me do some tricks? I'm really good." The boy said confidentially.

"Sure." Alan responded, seeing as that this might be the only way this kid will go away.

To Alan's surprise, the boy was really good. At first, he started out with some simple tricks. But then, somehow, he began to twirl the yo-yo in an expert fashion.

"Wow..." Alan breathed out, impressed as the boy twirled the yo-yo.

"Told ya, I'm really good. I've had lots of practice. C'mon, let me show you how to do a few tricks." The boy prodded. Alan couldn't help himself, and stepped out.

The boy handed Alan the yo-yo. "Here, show me what you can do."

Alan practically embarrassed himself when he tried to use the yo-yo, and the boy was non-stop laughing. "Wow, you suck at this." The boy said in between laughs.

Thanks a lot. Alan thought to himself, suddenly reminded of the Cosby show 'Kids Say the Darndest Things.'

"Sorry, I've never used a yo-yo before." Alan responded.

"Oh. Well, here, let me show you." The boy said, taking the yo-yo back.

"Alan? What are you doing?" Alan heard Katie call out, and both Alan and the boy turned to Katie, followed by Rachel, who seemed to be studying the child.

"Oh! Uh, nothing, this boy here was showing me how to use a yo-yo. He's pretty good actually."

"Ah, you must be Rachel, nice to finally meet you." This caused all three of them to stop and turn to the boy in alarm as he stared directly at Rachel, who was currently supposed to be invisible. Rachel froze in fear, recognizing who the boy was, though this was the first time she had actually seen him in person.

"L-L-Lord Constantine..." Rachel uttered. She had heard that Lord Constantine had the appearance of a child, an eight to ten year old boy, but she had never really believed it. At this point, however, there was no denying it. He was now allowing her to feel his presence, and it shook her to the core.

"That's me!" Lord Constantine called out excitedly, and both Katie and Alan turned to him, wide eyed, surprised, along with a touch of fear.

T-this kid...is a Vampire Lord!? Alan thought to himself.

Lord Constantine continued to smile. "I think we should take a drive together for a little while. Shotgun! I get the front!" Lord Constantine called out, running to the front passenger side door as all three stared at him, stunned.

Lord Constantine returned the stares and pouted. "C'mon! Let's go! Unless you want things to get ugly." There was a drastic and deadly change in his voice as he spoke the last sentence, even though it still had the high pitched voice of a small boy.

The change in his voice caused all three to shake off their surprise and get in the car with him. Rachel was in the front, driving, while Katie and Alan sat in the back.

"Well, this is nice. I finally get to meet Caleb Rachel the Third, and her little human lover, Alan Brooks. How exciting!" Lord Constantine said in excitement, then turned to Katie.

"Though, I don't know who you are. What's your name?"

"K-Katie." She didn't know what to make of this. Was this child really one of the nine Vampire Lords that they were supposed to fear? If he was, couldn't he easily kill them? What's going on?

"Nice to meet you Katie, I'm Lord Constantine." He said as he waved at Katie. Katie awkwardly waved back.