Death Becomes Us

The Baptism

"Seatbelt?"

Windows open, music blaring, Eddie shifted gear on the GTO and motioned for you to strap in. You noticed that he wasn't wearing his, but then again he had the immortality thing on his side.

"Mind telling me exactly where we are going?" You asked, clipping your lap belt and adjusting the strap.

"I told you," Eddie cleared his throat. "A vampire bar."

"But, I work at a vampire bar," you added. "It's not exactly new to me."

Eddie barked a laugh, clamping his hand way up high on he steering wheel. "Those geeks who go to Main Vein are babies, they are all fairly new to the life. No self-respecting vampire with any real years under their belt would go in there."

"So, you don't have any self-respect, I assume?" You chided, being that Eddie had been a frequent flier at Main Vein.

Eddie shrugged. "I'm a baby vampire compared to most. I'm talking about vampires who were turned hundreds of years ago. Maybe even thousands in some cases," he corrected.

A thought crossed your mind as you looked around at the polished and detailed interior of the vehicle you were in, eyeballing the guitar pick necklace dangling from the rear view mirror. "You're not taking me somewhere in a stolen car, are you?"

Eddie licked his teeth. "Nah, Princess. This baby is all mine."

The downtown area of Hawkins turned into suburban houses, and then opened up to a long highway flanked by thick forest as the muscle car zoomed along and you watched it all fly by from your window.

A corner of your brain flashed to a daydream just then. One where Eddie's hand came over to grab your leg, squeezing it, and when you looked over, he's licking his lips, eyes roaming your body. "Pull over," you whisper to him, and he immediately obliges, peeling onto the side of the road, tires spitting up gravel, and whips it into park. Eager mouths meet in the middle, over the console, and his hand darts up to cup your breast and thumb your nipple over your shirt. You reach over to palm his erection, your pussy already throbbing and trickling between your legs. It isn't long before you're straddling his lap in the driver's seat dry humping, bare breasts bouncing, begging him to bite you as his eyes go black.

"Did you hear what I said?" Eddie asked.

"No, I--" you swallowed to wet your dry mouth. "What was it?"

He rested the side of his hand on the dash to point in the direction of a green and white street arrow pointing down at a paved street that curved to the right. "It's a little jarring at first if you've never been, but you'll get used to it."

Indeed, you'd never been to the Upside Down, but you had heard the stories, and forgot to exhale a breath stuck in your chest as Eddie fishtailed around the corner and a dust cloud enveloped the car. There loomed a big, white church with round windows and a large bell at the very top; it was enormous but also quaint, with flower baskets hanging from the porch and a well kept lawn. Up ahead, you could see a bridge; an old, covered wooden bridge at the end of a narrow, paved road, with a path leading directly to it, a crescent moon stamp in the dark blue sky.

"You ready?" Eddie asked, slowing down to hit the lip of the road with a bounce.

"Sure," you replied, eyes ahead, getting closer to the bridge and further from the church.

You tried to fix your eyes when you realized the other end of the tunnel appeared to offer nothing but a pitch black void, and not a glimpse of the other side of the woods, as you would assume.

"What the---" you whispered the partial question to yourself just as the tires met the wobbly wood planks and you were under the shelter of the bridge, heading into a big, gaping nothing.