Misery County

Chapter 11 - Part 6

"You didn't think I went through all of that for nothing, did you?" Eric laughed.

"So what have you got?"

"Well, no matter how much I pushed him, he never would give anything up about the top of the leadership, the big boss. Maybe he didn't know anything about it. It doesn't matter. I got plenty more out of him." Eric pulled a small notepad out of his rear pocket and tossed it in Cassie's direction.

"Thanks, this – eww, it's all covered in blood."

"Yeah, I did the writing as the interrogation was going on. I figured that would be the best way to capture all the details. It goes without saying I didn't have the chance to wash my hands between... you know."

"Charming," Cassie said as she flipped through the notepad with the tip of her pinky finger. "Goddamn, Eric, you got a lot of information."

"I wouldn't call it 'a lot,' but it certainly gives us plenty of options for how we want to move forward with the investigation."

"No shit," Cassie said, squinting at a particularly blood-soaked page.

"And on that note, I shall be leaving you."

"Wait, what? Where are you going?"

"I need to take a shower and get into some clothes that aren't covered in..." Eric flicked a blob of some pink substance off of his sleeve. "...whatever that was."

"Sounds reasonable."

"And then I'm going to go see Nevena."

"Are you damaged in the head?"

"I'm going to ignore that. Besides, you know, work hard, play hard, all that stuff."

"Can't you play hard without going – actually, it's none of my business. I don't care. Do what you want."

"Oh, I intend to," Eric said, already leaving.

"Wait, what am I supposed to do with the body?"

"I don't know. Poke it with a stick or something. Whatever you want. See you around!"

*

It was dark outside, though Eric couldn't have known that if it wasn't for the old grandfather clock up against the wall. The curtains were tied open, but that made no difference to the thick paint covering the windows.

"Something on your mind, stud?" Nevena cooed.

Eric laughed at what he was about to say out loud. "Yeah, you could say that."

"Are you going to tell me, or do I need to interrogate it out of you?"

"This is going to sound like a joke."

"I like jokes."

"I don't think you'll like this one."

"Is it not very funny?"

"Oh, it's very funny, just not from your perspective."

"Well, I'm all ears anyway, hot stuff."

"Are you – are you, um, like, a vampire? Or something?"

Nevena stared at him, but Eric couldn't bear to make eye contact. His face was going bright red from the stupidity of the words that had just passed through his lips.

"Wait right here, stud," she said as she stood up from her chair and walked into the kitchen.

Eric felt like he should follow, but he decided to not push his luck after that ridiculous display.

Sounds of shelves opening and items being dragged across surfaces came from the next room.

A primal instinct in Eric was screaming to get out, and yet another presence in his mind was telling him to obey Nevena's command. No, not command. Request. Why did he think of it as a command?

"So I'm a vampire, am I?"

Eric looked up at Nevena who had just appeared in the doorway.

"See this?" she said, holding up a whole head of garlic.

"Uh, yes."

"Good, now watch this." She threw the entire head, skin and all, into her mouth and crunched it, bite after bite, before swallowing.

"Was that supposed to prove to me that you're not a monster? Because no human could eat that much garlic in one go without dying."

"Well, at least you know I'm not a vampire now."

"No, but now I'm scared you're some sort of weregoat, or whatever the hell kind of animal eats whole heads of garlic. With the skin, no less. The skin." He shuddered.

"Oh, Eric, these teeth can do more than you can ever imagine, and I think I'm going to show you just what they can do tonight."