Recap:
After Provocations Shane goes off by herself and manages to crash her truck. Dazed she runs into a vampire but is saved by Jason and Nathaniel who turn out to be wereanimals. This is how she comes into contact with Anita, the Executioner, and Jean Claude, the Master of the City. What Shane really wants to do is stay away from the freaks, but this proves harder than she thought when it turns out that the bervampire Belle Morte has set her sights on her. It doesnt help that there seems to be a certain attraction between her and Anita. Things only get more complicated when Alice drags Dana into Shanes saga and then goes off to investigate a series of flayings Anitas investigating. The last chapter left us with Alice charging off to talk to a source about the flayings. Now if you want to know what else happened in this story with Dana, Tonya, Gabby, Shane, Anita go read the last 19 chapters.

Chapter 20 – The Bloodsucker

Shane gripped the wheel even tighter as she turned left only a few miles behind Alice now. Automatically her left hand moved to the automatic lock button and she locked all four doors. The last thing she needed was to be car jacked. Her frown had deepened as they had slowly ventured from a bad part of town to the I aint going nowhere without my piece part of town. She wondered where the ***** Alice was going. This wasnt a safe neighborhood even for bangers let alone for some quirky blonde reporter who didnt know when to keep her mouth shut.

Anita was watching the surroundings change with just as much discomfort as Shane. She glanced sideways and could see the worry etched on Shanes face. They should never have let Alice leave on her own like that. Little did Anita know that handcuffing Alice to a bed with half a dozen hot naked women wouldnt have kept her from going off on a story. Once Alice smelled a story, she was like a vampire faced with an open vein. Nothing could detract her from her goal.

Christ! Where the ***** are we?! Dana let out from the back seat as she leaned forward in between the drivers and passengers seat. And where the ***** does Alice think shes going? she said pointing at the little red blip on the screen of the palmtop attached to the dash. Shane glanced back at her and just shrugged. The truth was she had a vague inclination as to where Alice was headed but she was praying she was wrong because she really didnt want to venture into that neighborhood again.

Hey! Shes stopped, Dana let out. Shane quickly looked back at the little red blip only to see her fears confirmed.

*****

Alice jumped and her hand flew to her chest when she heard a car door slam half a block down the road. When she realized what it had been she let out a breath.

Come on Pieszecki. Youre a star reporter. You can do this. She continued walking passing several abandoned boarded up buildings. She could see light coming from a crack from the building on her left. The buildings looked abandoned but they were definitely not uninhabited. Probably drug dealers and other scum were in there doing their thing she figured. Finally she came to a halt in front of a building that didnt seem to have any windows. When she looked closer she noticed all the windows had been blacked out. There was a big red neon sign flashing above a steel door. It read The Bloodsucker. That didnt really instill her with great confidence. She reached out and tried the doorknob but the door remained shut. She was about to knock when a latch was slid back at eye height and she was staring straight into a pair of amber eyes.

Uh hi Im Alice Im here to see Before she could finish the latch was slid back and she was looking at a closed there.

*****! Alice was about to start pounding on the door again when it suddenly opened and she was looking at a tall white guy. Actually one could take the expression white guy quite literally cos this guy seemed to be completely devoid of pigment. His amber eyes bored into hers and she felt herself getting a little dizzy. Then the guy smiled and stepped to the side and pointed at a set of stairs leading down. Alice called up all the courage she had and started down the steps. At the bottom of the stairs she opened the door and found herself in a grimy looking club. To her left was a small bar where a bunch of seedy looking characters were sipping away at their beers. It looked fairly normal till she saw the guy at the end of the bar who was sipping away at something that looked like a Bloody Mary only a tad darker. A shudder ran down her spine when she glimpsed his fangs and she realized what it was. She ventured further into the club catching glances from several people sitting at the tables. A young couple was dancing on the small dance floor to some relaxed tune she couldnt quite place.

Im everyone – I feel used,
Im everyone – I need you,
Im everyone – hang your label on me,
Im everyone – paint it black and white and easy,
Im everyone – sticks in me,
Im everyone – sticks with me,
I want perfection – Im real need,
Ive seen attention – see through me,
Call on me – spin spin sugar
Crawl on me – spin spin sugar
Stinks on me – spin spin sugar
Twists for me – spin spin sugar

Alice walked further into the room scanning the tables. She hated not knowing who she was supposed to meet. How the ***** was she supposed to know who her source was till her gaze locked with someone sitting at one of the tables in the far right corner.

***** me!

*****

Shane parked the truck right behind the truck Alice had borrowed from Anita. The four of them got out of the car. Dana looked around her and instinctively moved closer to Nathaniel until they were almost touching. When her arm brushed up she awkwardly moved back.

Its ok, he whispered into her ear. Its in our nature to touch people for comfort. He put his arm around her shoulders. Dana started pulling back but all of a sudden she changed her mind and leaned into his embrace. Instantly she felt a sort of calm wash over her. Nathaniel smiled not only because Dana felt more comfortable but also because her touch was soothing for him.

Anita moved up next to Shane who was checking out the buildings around them. She had no idea in which one of them Alice was. Shane felt Anitas shoulder touch her and she could feel the heat starting to flare in her belly. When she looked at her, she saw the desire in Anitas eyes. It was as if Anitas desire was fueling her own and for a moment the two women seemed to be lost in each others eyes.

So what are we going to do about Alice? Danas voice broke the spell and Anita and Shane looked away from each other a little flustered.

Well we need to find her first, Shane said. How the ***** are we going to do that? There are at least a dozen buildings here she could be in. Dana and Nathaniel looked at each other.

Uh hello wereanimals. Duh Shane. As she and Nathaniel passed them, Shane sensed a difference in Dana. She could feel her wereanimal coming to the surface. She glanced at Anita but she didnt seem to be noticing anything. The two of them followed at a short distance until both Dana and Nathaniel stopped in front of one of the last buildings in the block. The sign above the door read The Bloodsucker.

Are you guys sure we wanna go in here? Ive heard certain things about this place, Nathaniel said hesitantly.

What kind of things? Shane asked. Nathaniel looked a little uncomfortable.

The Bloodsucker is a club for those who find themselves at the fringes of society. The club has a few back rooms where people can indulge, Anita answered instead.

Indulge in what?

I dont think we want to know, Shane. Lets just go get Alice. She walked up to the door and knocked. The latch slid back and a pair of eyes bored into hers. The same amber eyes that had managed to intoxicate Alice momentarily.

What do you want? Dana stared back at him.

We want to get in, she said. When the man didnt seem to be making a move, she bared her teeth and let out a feral growl. The latch slid back and the door opened allowing them to enter. The four of them made their way down the stairs and entered the club area. Shane looked around the club trying to spot their friend when Nathaniel nudged her in the side and pointed to one of the tables in the far right corner. Shane could see the back of Alices head move up and down animatedly as she was talking to someone whose face she couldnt quite make out because of the lack of lighting.

*****

Wow I mean thats just wow. I cant believe youre And this story? I mean I cant believe theres actually What I mean is I just thought that Alice was having trouble trying to find the words to express just how she felt about what shed just heard. When shed first spotted her source shed been completely shocked. It was the last person shed expected to seen in a place like this. And not in her wildest dreams had she imagined that this person would know the tale behind the flayings. But when her contact had started the tale Alice had been mesmerized. It all sounded so absurd it had to be true.

So what youre trying to tell me is that theres actually a reason people are being flayed and not some psychopathic killer?

Thats what Im saying. You have to realize something, Alice. These people believe that the end justifies the means. And although I dont agree with what they do completely I can understand why they believe what they do. If the legend is correct then the powers that would be unleashed in the wrong hands would be disastrous.

But I still dont quite understand why, Alice said flipping through her little notepad. Her source leaned back with arms crossed.

The so-called freaks we see around us have a very long history. Their origins can be traced back to ancient texts. One of these ancient texts goes into the details of what would happen if humans and freaks, or to be more precise, would mix. Now theoretically its impossible for a vampire to give birth to a child or to father a child. Therefore it was never a big issue until the late 1500s. In 1592 to be exact a vampire fathered a child with a human woman. The child came into the world and appeared to be entirely normal until he came into adulthood.

Adulthood?

Yes, his twenties. Strange things started happening in his environment. And strange things happened to the people around them. They started exhibiting extreme behavior and they did things that were totally out of character. After a while people started taking notice and they came to realize that this abnormal child was the source of all these strange things. Because of his father he had inherited certain powers that remained dormant until he became older.

So what if he had some powers? What difference does it make? Alice asked scribbling away in her little pad.

Well, normally it wouldnt have if it hadnt been for the fact that he started abusing his powers. When he realized he could manipulate people around him, he started using his powers for his own personal gain. Thats when a small group of people started a secret society and they named themselves the Obscurati. Their sole purpose was to extinguish him but this proved harder than theyd thought.

Whatcha mean?

Because he wasnt entirely human, he couldnt be killed the normal way. After many attempts they finally succeeded.

How?

They drained his body of all blood by flaying him. Alice looked at her source in shock.

You mean they Alice let the words hang between him.

The secret society exists to this day. Their only purpose is to prevent the birth of children who have a vampire as a father. The Obscurati are spread all over the world. They operate sort of like terrorists. Each major city has a cell. Each cell has a leader who is in contact with a sort of boss who has contacts in every cell. Members of the cell dont know the members of other cells. Its for their protection to make sure that vampires arent able to kill all the Obscurati. Whenever word gets to them that a vampire has gotten a woman pregnant, a member of the cell is sent out to kill that woman who is with child.

But some of the flayings were guys.

Cover up. Some cell members go overboard to hide the true reason behind the killing.

But shouldnt there be more murders then? I mean there are loads of vampires.

Only very powerful vampires can father children. And even then not all women who sleep with them can get pregnant. There are a lot of factors that come into play. Some powerful vampires cant father children. The ones that can, will only succeed if the woman has certain genetic features. They have to be compatible so to speak. Alice leaned back trying to process the information she had just received. She was just about to ask exactly how her source knew all this stuff, when she saw her sources eyes fix behind her. When she turned around she saw Shane and Dana standing behind her with Anita and Nathaniel. When Dana saw Alices source her jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

Lara she whispered.