Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Chapter 4 - Relatives from hell.

"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says "I'm possible"!" 

                                                                                                               Audrey Hepburn

Kieran's POV

It was past 1.30 in the morning when we finally made it to my loft in Greenwich Village. My old jeep was full of hunters.  Brian and Uncle Toni were already ' Dead to the world ' in the back seat. What have they been doing? It’s not normal for a well experienced vampire hunter to fall sleep in 1.30 a.m.

I turned to my Dad who was in the passenger seat but he was snorting. I always asked my roommate to swear me I don’t snore in my sleep. I was scared if I had inherited his hunter genes it's more likely i've got his loud snorting too . It’s good he’s sleep so there’s no one to bitch me with another lecture of safe driving.

He was too much law abiding for a vampire hunter.

‘’Rise and shine pals.’’ I shouted as soon as I parked my jeep in my space at the car park. They all jumped from their seats, like some internal alarm went off.

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‘’You guys can have my loft all to yourself, all day. But I need to sleep now.’’  I yelled at them when they started to drink beer and watch a late night show on TV.

 All the hunters are fully awake now, after taking few shots of Beers of course.

‘’You go to sleep.’’ Toni bellowed from the couch.

 He put a big piece of meat in his mouth. "We'll bh gon... before sunrih."

“And might I ask what you plan to do early tomorrow morning. Try to catch the vampire queen perhaps?” I said that as a joke, however they missed the punchline by hundred marks.

Dad nearly spit out his beer, Toni nearly choked and Brian almost barfed.

 I’m being a big nuisance to them now. But I got really pissed off when dad announced he and his buddies are staying with me for a few days. How many college students live with their Dads in New York do you think. It’s a good thing I rented this loft three months ago. What will happen if they take it to their minds to stay with me in my college dorm?

‘’You think someone can sleep with all this noise going on.’’ someone please shoot me now, how am I going to sleep with 3 people chatting in my ears.

‘’We’ll keep our voices down.’’ Dad said. At least he could understand my problem.

I slid in to my small bedroom and jumped on to my queen sized bed.

I really thanked myself for having my bed room window soundproofed so I won’t throw my sanity out of bounds and try to teach them a lesson, which regarding my memory was a big improvement. I live in a crazy neighborhood that, in the summer, is similar to the French Quarter of New Orleans. The soundproof windows are the only thing that saves my sanity when the drunken workers start singing at 3 am. But I’m lucky considering the apartment my friend Matt shared with Andrea, his long term girl friend.

They lives on the Lower East Side in a decent but tiny apartment --- it was a studio that measured about 15x15 - the kitchen was in a corner and if you stood in the middle, you could reach everything without moving your feet other than in a pivot motion. No room for a bed, so they had a metress thrown over the floor. For that, he paid $1600 a month.

And all the money l earns from my two part time jobs vanishes to replacing my weapons and fueling for my automobile.  All because of the scholarship I won. They take care of my collage money as well as the other expenses like the rent of my apartment, which was a princely bundle.

I tried to burry my face in a pillow and sleep. But sleep didn’t come to me too soon.

‘’Oh come on.’’ I was half sleep when heard the arguments. it Looks like my Dad and uncle are having one of their Wakefield spats. It’s very annoying when they do it under my nose.

‘’We’ve been searching Boston inside out for two months Greg, and found nothing.’’ Uncle Toni yelled.

‘’She should be somewhere in Boston, you do remember what that vampire said, don’t you.’’  Dad shot back.

‘’And THAT vampire told us everything after your bloody interrogation. He was begging for his life when he said it. A person would tell anything for his life in that kind of situation brother.’’ Toni said in a raised voice.

‘’ I think he’s right Greg. We have to be more careful. For god's shake Greg, that bitch is one of the three vampire Sovereigns.  And she goes everywhere surrounded by an army of vamp thugs. ’’ Always the peace agent Brian said trying to calm the brothers.   

‘’We know she and her thugs were there in St. Claire the day  my wife and daughter'd been   murdered Brian. I think I told you about what Will Halliwell said about the kids he found in the woods with bite marks that  night ''

I sprang upright when I heard this and almost squashed poor old Goofy who had slid between my legs and was sleeping.  

‘’Meooooooow.’’ Stupid Goofy screamed in pain.

‘’Kieran, are you still awake.’’Dad asked like he expected me to sleep with their noise.

 He's lucky my neighbors weren't the kind that calls 911 at the first second to complaint on noisy neighbors. Like the dogs that sleep in a black smith’s working place, all of them were well used to     hearing thundering  noises in the middle of the night.

 Absently I crouched to pet the cat, which was rubbing lazily against my legs. 

‘’Ah, it’s alright dad. I think Goofy wants to go.’’ I said scowling at Goof ,it was dark in the room but I’m sure he noticed.

My mind was too occupied with the news flash to be embarrassed by being perceived in an eavesdropping. What dad just said set off so many alarms at once, in my mind.

If the vampire Queen had visited St. Claire that night , it’s perfectly positive that she’d brought some of her guard with her. Vampire hunters weren’t the only enemy she had.

And while she was Friday the thirteenthing me and the other kids in the forest, at least one of the vamps in her merry band of guards might have slid in to the house for a quick snack.

So it was the only one  vampire who was responsible of the whole thing.

  The one who made the Deal with me ,and the one who was answerable for killeing  half of my family. I have more reasons to kill her now. But I’ll never join my dad’s brigade.

I’m a solitary hunter. I hunt alone, and alone  I will hunt her down, a Queen or not.