FNIA: Soul

A Sneak Peek

Mike glanced up at the TV screen. Right now, his favorite soap opera was on: The Immortal and the Restless.

Just from the first lines alone, he knew there would not be much progression to the plot this episode. It was the same as it has always been for a while now; Clara, the vampire mistress, was denying that a baby was hers.

Vlad, naturally, was not happy about her claims.

"Vlad, I tell you; the baby isn't mine!" Clara insisted.

"My mistress, I tell you that it is! You're the only vampire I've ever been with!" Vlad argued. "And the baby has your exact fang!"

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"You've literally gave birth to her, gave her to me and told me to shove off!"

"I... Don't recall that."

"You said, and I quote: 'Good luck; vampire kids can be nightmares!"

"Any powerful vampire mistress could have said that."

Mike shook his head. This back and forth had been going on for so long now that it was incredible that he was still tuning in.

Just as he thought that, he heard the narrator announce: "Will Clara ever acknowledge that the baby is hers? Will Vlad ever get his child to stop trying to bite him? And will the politics of a vampire/human relationship ever come back to the forefront? Tune in next time! Same immortal bat channel, same immortal bat time!"

"How do they get away with saying that parody line?" Mike wondered aloud.

Time always did seem to fly by whenever that show was on. Looking at his phone, Mike was slightly surprised that it was time for him to depart for work.

He looked down. Sitting in front of him were the pieces of the laptop he took apart again.

With his recent string of paychecks, he was finally able to purchase a new one and now only needed to retrieve the hard drive in the old one.

At least I was able to get it before I needed to leave...

Mike placed the hard drive on the kitchen counter and grabbed his backpack. He then grabbed his cap and placed it firmly on his head. For once, he was departing for work looking like a security guard.

It was still a tad surreal. Even knowing that he was vital in some way in protecting the premises at night, it was still strange to be responsible for lives.

Especially since if it comes to a physical altercation, they'll likely be guarding me.

He shrugged and reached for his keys.

"Let's see what tonight brings us."

...

"Mr. Schmidt! Mr. Schmidt!"

Mr. Schmidt, or Mike as he prefers to go by, glanced up from his phone. He could question why the employee behind the counter was calling him by name and not by number but what would be the point of doing that?

He could also question why an obvious high schooler was still working this late, but that most certainly was none of his business.

"Sorry, I just wanted to say that name out loud," the teenage boy apologized as Mike approached the counter.

"Hm." Mike's eyes wavered slightly and were drawn to the name tag crudely fastened to the employee's shirt. The name Andrew was right there in bright red writing.

"Isn't it kind of weird that a guy with a British accent has a German sounding last name?" Andrew asked.

Mike shrugged and reached for his order. Noticeable steam rose from the small hole on top of his cup.