The Vampire from Hell

Chapter 2 - Fan of Mankind

Chapter 2 - Fan of Mankind

"What are you wearing?" 

Startled for the second time today, I whirled around in my gray ergonomic chair to see Stephanie, standing in the door frame of my office glaring at me. 

"What do you mean?" I replied. 

"Father will kill you if he sees that," she said. 

"Oh?" I asked, opening several more bogus reports on my computer. I continued typing at a feverish pace. The paperwork for the new arrivals had to be all there, even if the new arrivals were not. With Blick's help, I had been secretly returning humans, suitable for a second chance, to the upper levels of Earth. 

"Does your T-shirt say what I think it says?" 

I grinned at the computer screen in response to my sister's comment. I read the slogan aloud, "I'm a fan of mankind." The shirt did not compliment my black hair or pale skin, nor was it very appropriate for work, but I had chosen it to celebrate my upcoming vacation and the recent rescue mission. 

Stephanie was more right than she realized. I was taking a risk, wearing a pro-human shirt and secretly setting humans free from a horrific eternity. I looked away from my work, focusing my attention on Stephanie and returned her glare. "Even in Hell, we need to keep our sense of humor, sis." I added a hissing 'S' sound to the word to mock her speech patterns. 

Even though it was relatively warm in our climate, I had brought my black leather jacket to wear over the new T-shirt if I had to leave my office. I wore long sleeves as often as I could to hide the scars and bruises. I hated being reminded of them. I owned many items that irritated my sister, and this one just made her list. It didn't surprise me that she commented on my shirt, just as it didn't surprise me that she never asked me about my injuries. Being a passive aggressive sort, I enjoyed offending her. 

"I still don't know why he's letting you go on vacation. To the upper levels of Earth of all places? I deserve time away from here, not you. I wouldn't go up there though. I'd pick somewhere more fun like Mars or Neptune. I hear Saturn is beautiful this time of year. Hey, did you get those reports done? They have to be processed today, you know." 

"Yes, I'm almost finished actually." I hit the Enter key on my computer to submit the last fake report. "There, I'm done," I said and held up my hands in a victory symbol. 

"You're such an idiot." She said as she wandered around my office, grimacing at the movie posters lining the walls. "You know, maybe I should tell Father where you got your new shirt, shopping on the internet all the time. These movie posters are ridiculous." 

I kept my cool. I knew Stephanie was looking for a fight. But she wasn't going to push my buttons today. I felt elated with setting another group of humans free and visions of my upcoming vacation. "If you want anything from there, you know I can get it. Everything to do with shipping and distribution comes through me." 

"What would I want from Earth? Come on!" She stormed around my office, waving her hands, her voice shrilled. "Yes, I think I'll bring Father in here while you're on vacation and show him your laptop, and iPhone, and your posters, and your books, all of this stupid 'fan of mankind' crap. What do you think about that?" She hit each item with emphasis as she pranced around. Then she picked up a vase I had recently bought on eBay. It had the symbol of the sun on it, representing the Egyptian god Ra with a blue background that I imagined was the same color as the oceans on Earth. 

"Stephanie," I warned. 

The vase shattered in her hands. 

I thought of a four letter word starting with "C." It stayed lodged in my brain, radiating like a red neon sign in front of my eyes. I bit my lip, so I wouldn't say it as I watched her continue her rant. I swallowed down the insult. "You're reaching supersonic levels with that shrieking, sis. You promised you wouldn't say anything to Father."