Vampire Boys Of Summer (Completed!)

Episode 76: Angela, The Bleeder Feeder

As if on cue, the cavern erupted in a round of hearty applause. It didn’t seem to be a congratulatory gesture, but one of both disdain and triumph. They were gloating. They had achieved what they wished, herded us here so we could bear witness to whatever their plan was.

We stood there taking it all in. My companions showed no emotion, even at the sight of Angela, drained and exhausted from whatever they had put her through. I scanned the room, trying to pick out the master among the sea of vampires. None stood out more dominating than the rest. They were all like robots on remote control, behaving on cue as a dog begs for a biscuit.

After the mocking applause died down, Haru stepped forward. “We’ve come for the girl, “ he said in a commanding tone. There was dead silence. It hung in the air like we were in the eye of a hurricane. Calm, quiet, and then the storm. It was a hush at first, the sound of quiet laughter under another’s breath. Then it grew louder, more riotous, and a robed figure appeared behind my bestie. Angela’s body stiffened in fear, as the figure mocked us between laughs. “We’ve come for the girl,” it spoke in a high pitch whine that reminded me of a small child teasing another.

The figure’s hand reached out to touch Angela, and I noticed its long sharp fingernails. It looked a lot like Ryo’s had been when he’d sliced himself for Haru to feed. A fingernail scraped my bestie’s cheek. “You can’t have her,” he said, now resuming to a normal voice. “We aren’t done with her yet.”

An alarm went off in my head. I knew this voice. Not only had this been my phantom caller, dropping clues of Icarus, but I should have known it from elsewhere too. Still, my memory would not grasp where I had heard it before.

“You are done with her,” Luhan said, stepping forward to join Haru. He might have been short in stature, but in that moment he was ten feet tall to me.

“No, we are not,” the villain insisted. “What are you thinking? Your vampire Jedi mind tricks don’t work on me. I’m protected from such silly displays of power.”

“Then take one of us instead,” Chi demanded.

The figure studied her for a moment, cocked its head from side to side. “Mmmmm, I would certainly love to. But that would put you a little too close to me.” Then it laughed. “And you already had that chance, my dear.” It ran another sharp nailed finger across Angela’s forehead. A line of blood began to drip from the cut. “And anyway, we’re not ready to give up our favorite bleeder feeder just yet.”

I shuddered. Did that mean what I thought it did? That they’d been using her to feed on. Drinking her blood to sustain themselves until more suitable food sources could be found. No matter that she looked so ruined. Even if we rescued her, it might be impossible for her to come back from this, to be her old self again.

The hooded figure was enjoying this too much, and he looked to Chi for his continued amusement. “You know you really shouldn’t have left me out there. I could have been on your team.” A loud sigh. “Oh well. While I was waiting, a better offer came along. And the master was more generous than you were willing to be. You just wanted to relieve some sexual tension, he wanted a lieutenant. Snooze, you lose, bitch.”

In that moment, I knew who it was. What was it Chi had said? A nerd on the ground was worth more than football players in a locker room or something? No wonder he had disappeared from the scene for awhile. He was busy being turned into this.

“Please Colin,” I said. “Let her go.”

“Let me think on that…Nope! Remember how you both used to make fun of me? Insult me? Degrade me down to nothing? I told you one day you’d want a friend like me, Nora high-and-mighty Williams.”