DANIEL HERON: BECOMING

11 - You're not gonna let such a pretty girl stand outside, are you?

A cottage deep into the woods seemed to be secluded from the rest of the world. It looked run-down, as if it were battling against the weather for decades. Paint was chipping off the dried planks, the gutter was crooked on one side of the roof, but the windows were clean. The ruddy sky and the forest reflected off the glass, its canopies losing more and more green color with each passing day, replacing it with the autumn palette.

On the front side of the cottage stretched a porch wide enough to host a bench that stood close to the wall by the entrance door. The door was wide open, but screened by a net whose sole purpose was to prevent the insects from entering, primarily those two-winged blood-suckers whose buzzing caused discomfort.

The phone rang inside the cottage.

"Hello," a pleasant female voice said. After a moment of silence, the woman added, "Are you entirely sure?" Just a short pause followed, and then, "All right. Consider the matter done."

A minute later, the screen door opened, and the voice that was speaking on the phone yelled, "Ana! Ana! The call came!"

Another woman came running down the path that connected the cottage with the rest of the world. She didn't seem to be out of breath at all. Tall and slender, with her head held high, she looked like a noblewoman. But she wasn't wearing a gown. Instead, she was dressed in washed out, high waisted jeans and a gray T-shirt with a video cassette outline image.

Her chestnut brown hair obscured one of her eyes when she ran her fingers through it. Her thin lips weren't smiling, and her light blue eyes focused on the short-haired brunette who stood at the door.

"What happened, Teresa?" Ana joined her on the porch.

"I received a phone call," said Teresa. She crossed her arms on her chest and leaned her back against the doorframe. She was dressed in black. Only a short vest she wore was sage color. "Things went too far. We have a green light."

Ana's eyes flashed amber. "I was afraid it might come to that."

"Get ready. We're going to their gathering place tonight, and when all the sheep are accounted for..."

Teresa didn't have to finish the sentence. Ana knew very well what would happen once the whole gang assembled – the dawn wouldn't find them alive.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A pile of broken, rusted machines cast aside next to the factory, provided an excellent cover for those who sought it. Ana and Teresa crouched behind it, listening. Ana's blue eyes met Teresa's brown ones. None of them spoke, none moved.

Somewhere in the distance, the sound of a car engine was heard. It didn't take long before a blue car pulled over in front of the abandoned factory. Another one followed, its engine very noisy and the black color partially chipped.

A loud, merry group of people emerged from the vehicles. Five of them surrounded Lucio Veles who held a plain paper bag. He carried it inside the factory with special attentiveness.

Once inside, he turned it over, causing its content to fall on the small table. Soon it became obvious why he handled it with so much care.

When he removed the bag, he revealed a large pile of banknotes.

"Graze your eyes, my lambs!" Lucio said and pushed his hands into the rustling papers with pictures of dead meritorious persons on them.

Cheering and clapping filled the factory, and when someone's voice yelled, Bring the drinks! Tonight, we celebrate, no one noticed a person that quietly exited.

Daniel wasn't feeling like celebrating, and especially drinking. He pushed both hands in his hair and lifted his head toward the pale moonlight which he wasn't able to see because he kept his eyes closed.

He wasn't aware that there was someone watching him. Watching and waiting for the ideal moment.

"Heron!" Manuel's voice came traveling to him from the factory. "Where did you disappear to this time? Come and see, I made you a butterfly with numbers one-zero-zero on it!"

Daniel shook his head. "I couldn't have asked for a better friend," he mumbled to himself before heading back to the factory.

Behind a pile of rusty machines, Ana and Teresa exchanged another brief glancebefore moving closer to the factory wall with their backs against it. They remained standing like that for a while. Immobile. Patient.

The noise coming from the inside grew louder and louder, voices more and more drunken, and a scent of alcohol hit their nostrils.

Teresa's nose wrinkled, and her eyes shone when she turned her head towards Ana. Leaned against the gray wall of the abandoned factory, they came to a silent agreement. Ana nodded briefly and soundlessly snuck up to the metal door. She knocked four times, silencing the murmur inside.

"Rafael, go check who it is," someone said, and Ana's sharp hearing didn't miss the silently spoken words, "Hide the money."

A skinny young man opened the door. His hair was cut short except for the longer strands that covered the back of his neck. Mullets were very popular those days.

The young man briefly looked at Ana and shouted over his shoulder, "It's some chick!"

He returned his gaze to her, eyed her head to toe and smiled broadly, revealing that there was a missing tooth in his lower jaw.

Another young man approached the door. His blond hair was neatly combed, one strand falling over his forehead. He eyed her as well, but remained serious when he asked, "What brings you here?"

Her blue eyes looked straight into his gray ones. Her long eyelashes lowered several times before she said, "I'm lost."

"Lost?" Lucio looked past her, out into the dying light of the day. He leaned to the side so he would be able to observe the space in front of the factory. Her gaze followed his every move. "Are you alone?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied.

Another set of footsteps joined Rafael and Lucio by the door. "You're not gonna let such a pretty girl stand outside, are you?" Manuel asked.

By his side, Rafael exposed his teeth once more when he laughed. "Of course he won't," he shared his thoughts. "He's not that stupid."

Lucio just threw them sideways glances before he arched forward one more time to look at their surroundings. In front of the factory were their cars. Other than that, there was nothing else.

He looked at the woman standing at the threshold of their Ground Zero. "You're lost, you say?"

"Yes," she responded and innocently blinked with her long eyelashes.

Lucio looked over his shoulder. Victor and Bernard sat around the table, bottles and empty glasses on it. Noting else. When he turned towards the woman again, his lips stretched into a smile. "My friends are right. I would never be so stupid to let a beautiful girl like you stand outside."

He stepped to the side and extended his arm to indicate her that she is free to enter.

She didn't move from her spot. She just smiled and slightly tilted her head to the right.

"Well," Lucio said, "come on in."

Those words were all that was needed to move her. Slowly she stepped over the threshold and entered their lair. It wasn't until then that Daniel was able to get a good view of her. One look was enough to let him know that it was the same woman that he saw in front of Victor's car earlier that day.

He shivered.

First of all, thank you for reading this story of mine.

Second of all, here they are. You probably already guessed that these two women are my vampires. The only thing left to do is to allow them to show us their true colors. And that comes in the following chapter.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome, and so are your votes. Of course, only if you feel that this chapter deserves it.

Until next chapter...