Say Live, Let Die

Chapter 20: "what's left of you"

Marko gently steered his bike into a right turn, blowing the stop sign. David followed behind the younger Lost Boy, unfamiliar with where they were headed. It was a decidedly newer residential section of the town, more inland and less pricey. Of course Max would have seen the purchase or two of a home here as an investment. The former head vampire had amassed a nice portfolio of rental properties in Santa Carla during his tenure.

David drove up the small patch of grass that was considered the side yard, tailing Marko as they rode their bikes into the backyard of a one-story ranch-style home. After cutting the engine and dismounting, Marko walked back to shut the wooden gate, concealing their bikes.

Staying astride his, though turning off the engine, David surveyed the small back yard. It was nothing special; no pool, only some yellowing grass and a few bits of ornamental shrubbery.

"Needs a landscaper."

"I don't think Max had time to hire one. This was one of his last purchases." Marko shrugged, flipping through some keys on a ring. Selecting one, he walked to a side-door set at the back of the garage and unlocked it. David climbed off his bike and followed him inside.

The sedan Maria had driven to the Emerson's home was parked inside the garage, the plates removed, waiting for disposal. Marko brushed past it, unlocking the door that led inside the home with another key.

Inside the living space, David was greeted by a foul smell. "Did someone not take out the trash?"

"I think that's Dwayne." Marko's nose wrinkled.

David made a face. "That's just disgusting! I'm shocked there's not a cloud of flies buzzing around in here. We need to dump the remains!"

Marko growled. "They were our best friends!"

"Well, they're dead now, Marko! And one of them is rotting hardcore. It's making my eyes water!"

"Beth... she said she couldn't bring them back." Marko stared down a hallway that ran beyond the empty living room, twisting one of the silver eye rings around his finger. "She said we should decide what to do with the remains."

"Toss them outside in the backyard, away from the house. The sun will take care of it in the morning. The bags will go up in flames and that'll be the end of it."

"Damn, dude, are you serious?" Marko's face was incredulous at David's callousness.

"Yes. They're dead. We're not keeping chunks of Dwayne around out of sentimentality." David growled. "Those leftovers are a liability. This house reeks! A smell like that draws suspicion!"

"I thought we could bury them in the cave..."

"Do whatever the hell you want." David brushed past the younger Boy, heading to the kitchen and the room that lay beyond it. "It isn't going to matter to Paul and Dwayne at this point."

***

Beth opened the door and slipped into the private hospital room. It was dimly lit, with beeping monitors and other equipment ringed around the bed. Lucy's father lay still and frail looking, clad in a hospital gown and covered by a thick white hospital blanket. A part of his head was covered by a bandage, there were healing scrapes and road rash on his hands and arms, and there was an oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth.

Creeping towards the bed in total silence, Beth studied the old man. She picked up the chart from the end of the bed, flipping through the pages, reading the diagnosis and progress reports.

"Lucy?"

The vampire froze. The old man's voice was weak, barely a whisper through the oxygen mask. He had looked asleep. Lowering the chart, Beth looked at the old man's face.

"Lucy?" He repeated, weakly trying to displace the oxygen mask, unsure he was being heard. Beth put the chart down on the end of the bed before moving towards the head of the bed, reaching over and gently removing the mask.

"Yes, Dad." She lied, trying to look kindly and concerned, using her powers to help the old man's mind believe she was his dead daughter.

"Oh, Lucy." The old man squeezed his eyes shut against the gathering tears. "The vampires! I tried to tell them nurses but they wouldn't listen. Michael! You need to warn Michael, and Star!"

"It's okay." Beth took his outstretched hand in hers, patting the fragile flesh, squeezing it gently in reassurance. "Michael and Star are okay."

"Are they?"

"Yes, they're in a safe place." Beth nodded slowly. "Why do you think it was vampires?"

Grandpa sighed. "There's always vampires in Santa Carla, Lucy. Always will be. One generation gets killed, along comes another."

Beth raised an eyebrow at this. Maybe there had been something to what Edgar had told them about the old man? She tried a different tactic. "Now, Dad..."

"No, Lucy, listen to me." The old man's grip tightened on her hands like steel, his eyes clear and focused. "Max..."

"Max is dead, Dad. We all saw it happen."

"Yes, Max is dead but he was a vampire. He made them boys into vampires, the ones Sam and Michael told us about. The bodies we buried in the pasture. I should have burned them."

Beth frowned. "They're buried, deep in the ground. They can't hurt us now."

"No. Not them. The others! There are always others. They'll come looking. Vampires always want revenge!" The machines started to beep louder, the old man's blood pressure and heart rate rising from his agitation.

Beth put the oxygen mask back on his face. He struggled a bit but eventually gave up, taking deep breaths as Beth patted his hand. "There, that's it, slow deep breaths. There's no need to get excited, everybody's okay."

Grandpa shook his head in disagreement. His fingers fumbled to pull the mask away. "They took those Frog boys. Sam and I knew it was them behind it, those Frogs wouldn't just disappear."

"Dad, you did what you could. You put up the missing flyers." Beth ventured, playing on a hunch.

"Sam... those were Sam's idea. I just gave him the money." Grandpa looked... Beth wasn't sure. Shamed? Fearful? Regretful? "Where's Sam?"

"He's with Michael, safe."

"The crash... Laddie?"

Beth tucked the blanket in around the old man, trying to look as though she were concerned and fussing over him. It was difficult, even if the old man had done her family a favor by killing Max. "Everyone's safe." She lied in a reassuring tone.

"Leave. Get out of Santa Carla!" Grandpa coughed, wheezing for air. "They'll keep coming for revenge. Forget me, I'm old and too weak to fight anymore. Save yourselves!"

"Now, Dad, we're not going to leave you behind." Beth chided softly, slipping the oxygen mask back onto his face, letting go of his hand, tucking it under the blanket. "Stop that nonsense."

Grandpa was quiet, breathing in the oxygen, worn out. Beth watched him for a moment before stepping away from the bed, to a metal cabinet. She quietly rifled through the drawers, searching. It took her a few minutes but she found what she was looking for.

Slipping the packet into her jacket pocket, Beth wiped the drawers of her fingerprints before turning back to the old man in the hospital bed. His eyes were closed; he was resting, breathing in the much-needed oxygen.

She knew she should do it, get it over with before a nurse or a doctor came in and found her in Grandpa's room, but her curiosity was piqued. Pulling the chair left for visitors over to the side of the bed, Beth sat down, taking the old man's hand in hers once more.

"Dad, why do vampires live by the ocean?"