Say Live, Let Die

Chapter 16: "hold on to where you are"

Storming out of the back of the video store like a bat out of hell, David blew by the counter. He nodded at Maria. "Eleven."

Maria looked up, startled by the commotion. She quickly nodded at David. "Okay."

Marko popped up from between some shelves, tossing a VHS clamshell to Maria. "Bring that with you!" He hurried out into the parking lot, jumping on his bike, struggling to keep up with David. The leader of the Lost Boys had already driven away.

Marko finally caught up to him at a red light. Usually David blew through them but he wasn't sure where he was headed.

"Dude, what the hell?" Marko yelled at him as he pulled his bike to a stop, waiting for the light to change.

"The cave. I want to go back to the cave."

"I dunno, man." Marko answered warily. Looking towards the sky, he could see the stars and the moon dimly above the city lights. "We have time but I don't know that either of us should go back there..."

The light changed green. David rode off like a shot.

Marko sighed and followed, chasing after David's taillight.

***

David twisted the handlebars, turning the tire and sliding to a stop near the base of the wooden access stairs, having cut the engine a hundred yards earlier. The wind blew hard, tugging at the bottom of his coat, blowing in through the holes torn by the horns. He heard Marko pull up and cut the engine of his bike.

"We should have someone with us," he warned.

"We're vampires, Marko!" David snapped. "We don't need someone to hold our hands. It's our cave!"

Marko watched David dismount his bike and head towards the staircase. With a sigh, Marko shook his head and scrambled to keep up.

Over the narrow stretch of the wooden bridge where the waves splashed whoever dared to cross it, David stomped, the sound of his boot falls being swallowed by the roar of the ocean. He paused upon reaching the opening that led into the cave, looking around for the pieces of driftwood, the ones they kept for torches.

"Here," Marko's voice called, handing David a plastic flashlight. David gave him a look but thumbed the switch just the same.

They could see perfectly well without the flashlight; David figured it was just out of habit he had sought a driftwood torch. Partly because Star and Laddie had needed the light and warmth provided by fire, and probably because vampires liked creature comforts, too.

The worn stones that gave a natural entry into the heart of the cave were slick. David's boots slipped a few times as he made his way inside, shining the beam of light around the large room erratically.

Everything seemed to be exactly where it had been left. Just...empty.

There was a clicking sound that drew his attention. David looked over his shoulder to see Marko with a lighter in hand, touching the flame to some of the candles. A warm glow began to fill part of the cave, making David feel better. He turned the flashlight off, setting it down.

"They violated our home."

"They're dead, man." Marko shrugged. "I was with you, totally down for Old Testament 'eye for an eye' revenge. But it's over. They're dead."

"Edgar's not."

"As good as. We can off him whenever you want. I don't think he's gonna have much more to say."

David circled around the broken fountain, coming to a stop in front of the wheelchair. "The grandfather."

"Beth wanted to talk to him. Maybe that's where she went?" Marko looked around, lighting more candles.

"No." David shook his head. He had a pretty good idea where the blonde had disappeared. "Do you think the grandfather knows anything of worth?"

"Dunno, bud. Edgar related some pretty fantastic stories but how much of what comes out of his cake hole is truth? If Michael's grandpa did half of what Edgar claims, then he's a bonafide vampire hunter."

David didn't buy it. If the old man was a vampire hunter, or knew vampires existed, why had he let his grandsons become involved with them? "You think he's in his seventies? Early eighties?"

"I guess so? Maria would know."

"Maybe he knew about Max, suspected something." David touched the arm of the wheelchair before taking a seat in it. "If the old man has lived most of his life here, watched the town change around him..."

"Max was good but it would be hard to hide his longtime involvement in the community." Marko nodded. "One vampire might get away with it, but five? Five was pushing it."

David took the cigarette from behind his ear and lit it, letting the nicotine calm him as he sat quietly, thinking. Marko moved around the cave, lighting a few more candles before he started looking through the stuff they had collected. A few smaller items he pocketed, others he left where they were.

The sound of the water crashing against the rocks filled the chamber as the two vampires remained silent. David brooded and Marko left him to it. Sometimes there wasn't much to do when David was in a dark mood. Marko's gaze drifted up to the hole in the cave wall, where the tunnel led to the room where he died.

He walked away from it, picking up Paul's beloved boom box, ejecting the cassette tape from within. "Paulie's gonna want this back." He muttered to himself, stuffing it in his jacket pocket.

"Paul's not coming back, Marko."

"You don't know that! Beth said something about bone marrow..."

David was in front of him suddenly, looming with a scowl on his face, his shadow stretched up and distorted on the rock wall behind him. His eyes had a wild look that Marko couldn't quite decipher. "Paul and Dwayne aren't coming back. They're dead and gone, Marko. I heard them. I heard them before I came to in the darkness, and then I heard nothing!"

Marko stared back at the lead vampire, defiance in his eyes. In his heart he knew the truth: there wasn't anything to bring back. His friends were dead; the fun was over. He was stuck with David for the rest of eternity.

The curly haired blond walked away, headed for where Dwayne had stashed the stolen comic books. David let him go, taking a final drag off the cigarette before lighting another.

He wanted to stay in the cave, hole up like some great monstrous dragon, luring in people who dared come to take a peek inside. He wanted it to feel the way it had before, as the Boys' sanctuary, their home turf, but the damage was done. The Emersons and the Frogs had violated it, killed Marko within its walls. Star had sold them out and given herself to Michael in that very corner...

David balled his hands into fists and roared, the noise deepening as he transformed, his fangs extending and his eyes burning golden red.