Santa Carla Chronicles

Go Fly a Kite

"Marko, bud, hurry up!"

"Hold your horses a minute, Paulie!" Marko's head was tipped the side, looking curiously as the kite hanging from the ceiling of the shop whose entrance spilled out onto the Boardwalk. It was full of the typical mishmash of souvenirs, beach gear, and cheaply made junk imported from Taiwan.

Floating in the midst of the brightly colored knickknacks was a black bat kite. The over-sized yellow eyes and the enormous red lips pulled back to reveal two rows of sharp fangs. The fabric body of the kite rippled in the breeze that rolled in off the Pacific.

"Hey!" Marko called at the teenage boy standing behind the counter, pointing up at the kite. "I want that."

David mused in silence as the Boys rode their bikes up into the ritzy residential section of Santa Carla. Things had been going very well. Max had made it clear Lucy was to be his intended, his bride, and their future 'mother'. Instructions had been given to bring her eldest son Michael into their gang, a feat made all the more easier by dangling Star in front of him.

Which left David's part of the plan. Getting Star to finally take the last leap and join them officially. Michael could be her first kill. The fact she wanted him was easily read on her face and in her body language. David smirked, the wind blowing in his face as all four bikes gunned up a steep hill.

With Michael dead and Star a full vampire, Lucy wouldn't have so much to worry about. Max would take care of everything and leave the Boys alone, now that he finally had a bride. It was really all so simple.

Earlier in the evening the Boys had given Lucy a bit of a thrill. She'd come walking out of the video store just as the Boys had rolled up. Sensing that she was nervous around them, they'd taken to circling around her on their bikes. Laughing and teasing her just enough, watching her dissolve into a scared little girl before their eyes.

Max had rolled up in his red Corvette, Thorn barking. He had looked at David over the open top of the car, murder in his eyes. Fun and games over, the Boys had headed off into the night, leaving Lucy to her less-than-honest "savior".

A short stop at the Emerson home, a few mind tricks, a bit of fun had at precious little Michael's expense. He'd even opened the door for them but there wasn't a invite. Besides, the Lost Boys had a meeting to attend rather then continue to give Mikey a good head trip.

It was pitch black in the shadows, only the Craftsman reproduction lights illuminating the bridge that crossed the crevasse and joined the driveway to Max's mansion on the hillside. The red Corvette pulled up and parked, the tall silhouette of Max exiting the sports car.

Max could hear a noise, something different from the pounding of the surf below. Slowly crossing the bridge, he heard it again. Then a third time.

Walking under the trellis of night-blooming flowers, Max heard the noise a fourth time.

"Who's there?" The muted whine drew his attention to the large white German Shepherd sitting patiently outside the security gate. "Hello, Thorn."

The dog trotted over to its master, Max crouching down and taking the dog by the ruff. "Is that you Thorn, is that you making all that noise?"

Marko held back a giggle as the bat kite sailed from his hand and hit its intended target square in the side of the neck. Thorn instantly started barking as Max clawed at the kite, throwing it to the bricks. The gruesome, cartoon-ish face stared back up at him.

Picking it up, Max looked out to see the direction it had come from just as the lights on the bridge walk way went out. Paul and Dwayne started hooting and hollering as the four Boys revved the engines of their bikes, the halogen headlamps blinding Max and reflecting in the lens of his glasses.

"Don't toy with me, David!" Max roared when he realized it was just the Boys. David gave it a few more seconds before nodding at the others. The engines ceased and the lamps on the bridge switched back on.

"Just having a little fun, that's all." David headed up the line as the Boys crossed the bridge onto Max's property.

"This is supposed to be funny?" Max's eyes were tinged just the slightest red as he held up the bat kite and shook it at the four young vampires.

"Michael's one of us." David's head tipped to the side, ignoring Max.

"Did he make his first kill?" Max received no answer but silence. "No? Then he isn't a full vampire yet! So don't tell me your job is done! Hasn't he killed the girl yet? I told you to get him interested in her-"

"He is. He will. It's just a matter of time." David drawled slowly as if talking to an impatient child. "We paid him a little visit earlier. He should having his first meal by now."

Max continued to glare at the blond boy but the red tint to his eyes had faded away. "Make certain. Until then, do not come near the store or Lucy."

Tossing the kite over the side of the cliff face, Max stormed off and headed inside. A resounding slam of the heavy wood door ended the conversation.

Marko watched sadly as the black bat kite fluttered down, disappearing in the gathered darkness between the rock, vanishing completely into the black water.

END