Suburban Vampire Ragnarok

Chapter 18

"I grow impatient, Malheur. You said that we were ready. My family and my disciples are chomping at the bit, as they say. They are all quite eager for the operation to begin."

"And it soon will," Malheur replied, speaking into the burner cellphone. "I am watching the progress of our operative. Soon this operative will have the box. But these things take time, my friend."

"Yes? And the wolf? And the vampire? When will we have these things?"

"Soon, I assure you."

"Your assurances are insufficient. My family grows bored of this piddling backwoods town. So do my disciples."

"And still you must remain, as the tree you need grows there. Soon it will bear fruit."

"And my family grows restless!"

"Damn you, they are not your family. They are mine! And you serve my will! Do you understand this?"

"Forgive me, my lord. I did not mean to question your authority. After all, you have given me life and renewed purpose. You have given me the makings of an army. I shall tell my family to exercise patience. They are all very excited, you see."

"Ahh, that's better. It is good that they are excited. Soon they will get what they came for. Soon, we will all get what we have labored for. Just have patience! It shall be worth the wait, I promise!"

*

Jane Klein didn't have much planned that weekend. Her investigation into the odd goings-on around the town of Hibbert's Corner had hit the proverbial wall. She attempted to contact the new mayor, Tony Knight, but only ended up playing phone tag with Mr. Knight, or his wife, asking for an interview, a statement, anything, so long as she could at least speak with him. However, her calls were never returned. Jane began wondering how it was probably easier to contact the governor than it was to contact the mayor of a small and relatively insignificant town like Hibbert's Corner. She decided that she would ambush the mayor at the town council meeting early next week, and hopefully convince him not to avoid her. She then contacted the Department of Fish and Wildlife to see if they had any reports of wolves or other large predators in the area. Sure enough, they confirmed what Sheriff Andy had told her, that there were no wolves anywhere near Lincoln County.

Undeterred, she followed up with one of her contacts in academia, a researcher at the University of Oregon who "dabbled" in the field of cryptozoology. Dr. Lucy Gorski told Jane that such wolf-like creatures show up in the folklore of several peoples in different parts of the world. Despite this, she had no concrete information for Jane. She did say she would love to investigate the matter further, but was currently awash in the near-year-end rush of thesis projects and dissertations that required her more immediate attention.

At wits' end, Jane decided the best course of action that weekend was to blow off some steam and drive Highway 101 along the Oregon coast, take in the views, eat lots of seafood (again glad that she wasn't an observant Jew), and drink lots of local brews. But before she could go, she decided to stop by the only real grocer in Hibbert's Corner, Lew's. She was going to pick up some trail mix, and maybe some bottled tea as well, for her stress-relieving excursion. She greeted Connie, the cashier, with the usual pleasantries. Lew Ekstrom, the manager, rushed up to greet her, promising her he'd buy some advertising space in the next edition of the Hibbert's Corner Community News. Jane welcomed the manager's affirmation, but she knew to believe it when it actually happened.

As she was passing by the small meat market near the rear of Lew's, she noticed a man she hadn't seen in town before. A medium-sized, muscled young man with a shaved head, wearing a dirty white wife-beater and equally filthy jeans. The young man was staring at the various cuts of beef on display, seeming to be unaware of anything else.

"Hello?" Jane greeted. He didn't respond but kept staring at the meat. Man, this guy must really like his beef, Jane supposed.

"Hi there," she tried again. "Those are some lovely T-bones and sirloins. Planning on steak tonight?"

Still the young man didn't break his concentration but kept staring into the display.

"Um, you must be new in town. Are you one of Mayor Knight's friends, or—"

"It's dead," the young man finally said as he stared at the meat.

"Uh, well, yeah, it's easier to cook that way."

"It's better when it's alive. Fresher. There's nothing like a fresh kill."

Okay, so the new guy is real creepy, Jane told herself. "You a hunter, I take it? There are lots of hunters around here."

"Not like them. I hunt, but not like them."

Jane thought she might not like the answer to her next question, but she was a journalist. It was kind of her job. "Okay, how do you hunt, then?"

"We," he said. Creepy and cryptic, Jane thought. What a great combination.

"We? What do you mean, we?"

"I'm afraid the young man is lost," came another voice, a deep voice, echoing from a tall, thin, imperious-looking man, startling Jane. The young man turned to face him, almost as if by cue.

"Mayor Knight!" Jane said. "Funny I should run into you here, of all places."

"Not funny at all. Jane? Is it Jane? May I call you Jane?"

"Why, yes, Mr. Mayor, you may," Jane said, shaking his hand. "And may I call you..."

"Mayor Knight will be sufficient. Anyway, it's not at all funny that I'm here; my wife asked me to pick up a few things here at the grocers'. And I see you have met my nephew, Zach. He is staying with my family, and may take up residence himself here in Hibbert's Corner."

"That's nice. What will he be doing here?"

"As you can tell, my nephew has issues. Come, Zach," Knight called to the strange young man. Zach stepped forward obediently, joining Mayor Knight. He placed his hand on Zach's shoulder, and directed him toward the front of the store.

"Mr. Mayor! Wait! I'd like to talk with you!"

Knight turned to face Jane. "I am afraid that now is not a good time."

"Then, when?"

"Soon," he said as he escorted Zach out of the store towards a silver BMW. Jane stood at the door of the grocers', watching the mayor as he and the strange young man pulled out of the parking lot.

Well, that wasn't weird, or disturbing at all. Jane had what the old-timers would call a "nose for news", an innate sense of curiosity and a desire to get to the root cause of events. Her experiences in reporting had only helped develop this sense. To say that her curiosity was now piqued would be an understatement. However, now wasn't the time to pursue the issue. She would continue with her plans for the weekend, and develop her strategy somewhere along the rugged coastline.