Suburban Vampire: Reckoning

Chapter 19

When Scott told Pastor Larry earlier that this might get a little messy, he really had no idea how messy it would get. He sat on the sidewalk right next to his car, his head cast down. Scott's mind was filled with turmoil, competing emotions stirred up by what he had both witnessed and done himself. He was angry, mainly at himself. Angry for letting Phaedra do things "her way", angry that he may have actually wanted her to do the things she did, angry that he could not control his own beast, angry that he may not have wanted control. Scott had shed human blood before, and still had his regrets over that incident, justifiable though it may have been; it was something he did not wish to repeat. Blaming his vampire nature for his lack of hesitation was simply a cop-out, and he knew it. He sat there, stewing in his regret and shame as Phaedra approached then sat on the curb next to him.

"Ah, blood is a real bitch to get out of wool knit," She said, "Anyway, I stashed the bodies real good, no one will find them for a long time. By the way, thanks for helping with that (Scott actually left soon after the dark deed was done, leaving her to clean up the mess she had made). You know, you've got blood on your shirt."

"Yeah."

"What? Are you worried that we may have left some evidence? Don't worry, I took the glass you used, and I'll get rid of it later. Plus, vampires don't leave DNA evidence. Of course, that's one way Ministry will be able to figure out that it was a vampire attack."

Ministry? Scott's eyes widened in fear. He'd been working with the ancient monster-hunting organization almost since he became a vampire about a year and a half previous. He knew their capabilities, and he knew that it would be either Jeremiah or Dawn who would be assigned to arrest him – "arrest" being a cheerful euphemism for "kill".

Phaedra laughed. "Oh, don't worry Scott, they're not coming after you. Why are you so gloomy?"

"Why are you so cheerful?"

"B positive!"

"How can I be positive, after... after that? After what you... after what we did?"

Phaedra shook her head. "No, Scott, B positive. The blood type. Our friend Eugene's blood type was B positive. And it was absolutely delicious, don't you agree?"

Scott didn't want to agree. But he couldn't lie, either. "Yeah, it was pretty tasty, I do admit."

"See? You are a vampire, after all!"

"I don't want to be a vampire. I never wanted to be a vampire. I never wanted to exist in a world where... where what we just did could be considered 'normal'."

"I don't get you, Scott. Seriously, I don't."

"Join the club."

"Scott, you can sit there and be a whiny little bitch, or you can vampire up. It's up to you. But look at it this way: you are doing good, Scott. You know you are. It's just you're doing good in a bad way."

"The ends justifies the means, is that what you're trying to say?"

"That's how history works. I thought you knew that. The winner gets to write the books, and we are winners, Scott, you and me."

There was no point in arguing with her. She was what she was, and she made no apology. "Fine. We're winners."

"Now you get it, and now you need to plan your next step. Get your head back in the game, 'cause it ain't over."

"Yeah. Now I get to take on the Russian mob. Whee."

"'We" is right. We, as in us. You and I."