Ellis O'Reilly: Sunlight in the Dark

Chapter One: Welcome to David City

It was supposed to be a twenty-two hour drive. The operator of the black Audi was not a patient man and he was even worse when he was hungry. And, boy, was he hungry.

Escaping the clutches of San Francisco proved more difficult than Ellis O'Reilly had anticipated. Bad traffic was one of those burdensome but sadly inescapable mortal realities he had to suffer through. Once Ellis got out of the city and onto I-80, it wasn't nearly as bad. He'd pass cars here and there but for the most part, he welcomed the predictable pacing of the open road. It allowed his mind to drift away from his hunger and wander back to the more important things. Like why it had to be Nebraska of all places. Couldn't it be somewhere more exciting? Like New York or Texas or even Florida. And why did he have to go? He knew the answer to that one, but it still made him bitter.

Any time the magistrate had a problem, he was always the one chosen to solve it. It wasn't because he was especially talented or particularly fit to solve problems– no, it was because he was the youngest. Being the youngest member of the magistrate was like constantly drawing the shortest straw and unfortunately, Ellis had been the youngest member for years now. This wasn't the first road trip they had sent him on either, nor was it the longest. In fact, there was nothing at all special about this one. This mission was exactly like all of the others: the magistrate claimed to hear whisperings and with their oh so fair due-process, Ellis would be appointed to debunk them. It was usually just a pack of coyotes, or mountain lions. A couple times, it was even bears. But it was never what they thought. It was never another vampire.

Ellis was shocked they even sent him out to investigate this one. Sure, a handful of bodies were turning up in town and yeah, they all seemed to be ruthlessly gored– a lot like what you'd expect from someone who was recently turned– but not one of them were found drained of blood. A body drained of blood was always a telltale sign. But the magistrate was hypervigilant and they always crossed their t's and dotted their i's. Ellis figured he'd show up to town, poke around for a few days, maybe meet a couple ladies, confirm it was just another animal and go home. Easy as pie.

Ellis rolled up the windows and ran a hand through his windblown disheveled locks. His soft blond waves were now more unruly than ever. After hours on the road, the hunger was really beginning to get to him. He'd have to stop for a bite. There hadn't been an exit in a while, but when the opportunity finally arose, he took it. It would be better if he entered Nebraska on a full stomach anyway. Hunger had a way of clouding his thoughts.

Once satiated, Ellis got back on the road. He glanced in his rearview mirror and wiped away at the red staining on his lips. The deposited spatter only smudged but refused to give. It was a silent warning of the probability of danger, almost akin to a caution wet floor sign in a hotel lobby. And like a caution wet floor sign, most would ignore it.

David City, Nebraska was not a city at all. With a population of only three thousand, it seemed as though everyone knew everyone. The most notable person from David City was "America's sweetheart of song", Ruth Etting, who shared a handful of hits like her single, Love Me or Leave Me. Of course, Ruth (and most of her fans) had been dead for more than forty years now. The only movement the "city" seemed to have was during fair season. Otherwise, it was safe to say that it was a quiet, undisturbed town. No wonder the killings caught the magistrate's eye. This was probably the most interesting thing to happen here since Miss Ruth.

There weren't a lot of options for lodging in town. Fortunately for Ellis, his kind didn't really need to sleep. Sleep was more of a luxury activity. It was nice to lay down but it wasn't necessary. Ellis ended up finding a vacancy at the Rose Motel off Timpte Parkway. It was discreet and cheap and Ellis thought it was kind of funny that it was positioned across from a funeral home. The motel's sign was red with thick blackletter script. There was a graphic of a rose in the center of each "o" and their slogan reading, "Leave The Rest To Us!" was cheerfully written in bold underneath. The motel was a 1970s brick building made up of connected rooms whose doors faced an almost entirely empty parking lot. It was flat and desolate, a lot like the rest of the town.