Bite Me

The cemetery was large, full of tomb stones and ornate crosses, the walkways were narrow, making it less than comfortable for Gashtin to walk. So many dead bodies lay under his feet, he could almost feel their presence, like they were calling to him for life. Sadly he had to deny them the pleasure, he was to meet the Cardinal and he couldn't have a bunch of dead people walking around. Not  to mention eating the people within the city. He shook his head of the thought. The statue before him, the mother Mary, looked so beautiful. Raising his hand to his chin he wondered what statue would be placed at his tomb, maybe nothing, he wouldn't want to bring himself too much glory, that belongs to God. A simple cremation would be best. He thought.

"Gashtin!" An older man said with a raised hand as he walked through the narrow passages of the cemetery. His beard and temples were greyed but otherwise he had a full head of smooth black hair. His skin was fair and his eyes sparkled a light brown in the sunlight. For a moment Gashtin thought he could see a halo around his head, the sun hit just right, like an angle floating to earth.
"Cardinal, how are you?" Gashtin said with a smile, happy for the new thought.
"I'm doing well. How long are you planning to stay in the city?" The Cardinal said.
"I was hoping for about a week." They started to walk through the garden like cemetery.
"Good good. It will give us time to catch up. Now, I do apologize to get right to business but I have a meeting with The Pope soon." The Cardinal handed Gashtin a large tan envelope, it was about as thick as two of his fingers.
"Oh, of course." He took the envelope.
"Inside you will find your next assign-" A group of people passed by. The Cardinal waited for them to pass before speaking again. "Assignment. I am afraid the Low Sparrow has been active in Las Vegas. Attacks on young female victims. Some have teeth marks on their neck, others have told stories of what they have seen, It is all documented. Please read all of the them thoroughly before you leave and burn them afterwards. Whatever you need." The man stopped in the walkway and took Gashtin's hand. "I know this is a lot to take in. But please be safe. Call the team in Las Vegas, they will have all of your gear prepared."
"Yes, your Eminence. I must admit I am a bit wary of what you are asking, such a creature you are referring to, do you think I am ready?"
"You would not be the first human to take on such a task and you will be well equipped. With God on your side who can stand against you?" The Cardinal said. "Now go. Enjoy the city. There will be a plane ready within the week. Though, remember, the longer we wait the more people will suffer."
"Of course, your Eminence." Gashtin said. "And thank you. Your confidence gives me confidence." He smiled. The Cardinal walked way toward the main building of the Vatican.

Gashtin spent much of that week in prayer and confession. He took the time to speak with many of his friends, call his family, and even visit some of his favorite restaurants. He didn't hesitate to open the envelope that he was given as soon as he got back to the apartment. It was full of medical reports, blurred pictures, stories that seemed like they were from a legend, talking of pale men with sharp teeth. Sunlight, crosses, and silver could hurt them, the reports only hinted at some of these things, but he would have guessed most of it. Before he left he was sure to call the Cardinal's people in Las Vegas, they ensured him they would have everything prepared for his arrival.




Sweat beaded on Gashtin's face as he walked off the tarmac. This had to be one of the hottest places he's been. He was sure if he broke an egg on the ground it would cook right in front of him. The airport was a great comfort as the semi-frozen air pelted him in the face. He made his way through the building, gathered his bags, a large dufflebag and another red cloth bag, each having a tag on it. Then he went to find his ride. He wasn't hard to find. A golden haired man stood at the front doors with mirrored sunglasses holding up a sign saying, "Father Tillman". He walked up and waved.

"Were to fella?" Gashtin asked them man. The blond guy reached out his hand quickly and shook Gashtin's vigorously as soon as they touched.
"It's so nice to finally meet you Father." The man spoke with enthusiasm. "His eminence has told me so much about you. I hope you found the documents of some assistance."
"You were the one that sent them?"
"Yeah." Ge said shrugging. "But anyway. Why don't we get going, I can show you around the garage and get you some food?"
"Sure. I can go for a burger." Gashtin said as they headed towards the parking structure.

They headed east from the airport. The place the man called "headquarters" looked more like a shack, the roof was metal and rusted beyond its years, some of the windows were replaced by plywood, it was as large as a warehouse. Inside looked complex, computers and gadgets, large lights hung over the open spaces. It looked like a training ground of sorts, punching bags, weapon lockers, even a large pool was situated inside.

"We will wait till evening. Enjoy that burger and I'll see you at sun down." The man pointed at Gashtin. Gashtin only pointed back, the gesture looked odd on him. He went to the back and through a wooden door. It was a type of barracks, beds hung from chains on the walls and wooden chests were situated at the foot of each of them. He ate the rest of his burger and lied down. Soon it will be night.

The taste of blood was like an electrical current on his tongue, vibrating and reverberating through his entire body. Struggling human fool had given to limp, slow breathing form that then became nothing more than a corpse. To Lazarus it was all too hilarious. In his personal, stolen apartment he watched the fluctuating lights from the television. “Here I thought they’d put up more of a fight,” The dark-skinned vampire female mused, stretched out over a loveseat and wiping away remnants of blood away from her lips.

”They’re slowing down. Growing sloppy I suppose from Osiris’s vampire society.  Maybe they aren’t used to things like…well me,” Lazarus made a vague motion towards himself, pristine without a drop wasted. The blood of Vegas was something that had a specific taste, something that he quite enjoyed whenever he came around. Sweet and tart with the bitter memories that brought them to this city of vice and sin. Everyone had their own reasons for coming to Vegas after all, and their memories fascinated him.  ”I was hoping to see what this city had to offer me, undermine whatever authority they have set up here. Not that they could do anything to me,” He mused, rising from the plush couch and padding across the floor and stepping through the small puddle of blood.

He didn’t drain all of them, some were ripped apart and thrown across the room like a butcher’s grim masterpiece. He was dressed in a slightly frayed pair of jeans and a button up white shirt, undone down to the center of his midrift and rolled up to his sleeves.”Going somewhere Laz?” She questioned, the faint southern accent shoving the dead man violently to the floor.

”I’m bored, maybe the city has something for me out there.”

“Thinking of that sad eyed pretty boy of yours?” He could hear the smile on her lips.

”No, just the one I’m going to find,”  He chuckled, stepping through the dim lit doorway and into the night. Into the night of Vegas, with all the blood he could drink and even more. No one could stop him afterall, or it felt like that. Roaming through the back streets, behind casinos and all other gaudy places for a meal likely too drunk or despondent to fight back. Not that he needed someone too weak to do that,all humans were too weak to resist him were he so inclined. Nothing more than mothers fluttering within a spider’s web once caught. It was all too amusing.

Would there be more? Hunters who thought themselves capable of killing someone like him? He hoped so. They were always the most fun, to smash like bugs and to watch them crawl along until he did them the mercy of death.  He ended up plucking a fat looking human, burger half sheathed in its wrapper in hand, drawing them into the darkness and grasping onto the fatty treat.

”They say you should avoid too much fat ion your diet but honestly it just makes the meal richer,” He enjoyed the mans shock when his fangs slid into view but didn’t have the time to scream as they bit into the soft flesh of his neck.

Gashtin opened his eyes tiredly. He felt groggy, naps had a habit of doing that to him, though he could still be getting over some of the jetlag that dogged at his heals. Nothing a cup of coffee and some exercise couldn't fix he thought as he stood and stretched. Before he could make it to the door the companion from earlier pushed it open forcefully from the other side. Thanks to Gashtin's reflexes he was able to grab the door and halt it without injury.

"Oh. Sorry about that father, I was just about to wake you. Its nightfall" The man said.
"Not a problem."
"Here ya go." He handed him a cup of coffee. "I remember my first vamp run, I was practically stumbling over my own feet. Yeah, that should help." The man said.
"Thank you."
"Ah, well, now that your up. I'll introduce you to some of the guys. They have some pretty interesting equipment you might like."

They left the doorway and the man lead Gashtin into a large open area. Other than a four door truck, the place seemed a little more tidy than it had when he first walked in. Shelving lined some of the garage, each thing in its own space. Large heavy lights hung from the celling, it lit the area well enough that when the seven people approached they seemed to have no shadows, each time one tried to form light painted over it. His companion quickly called out their names and occupation: "Ricky there is in charge of lights. Stephen- chains and other metallic things, Mark- guns and ammunition (of all kinds). Theses two gentlemen will be our drivers, Miguel and Eduardo. That beauty-" The man pointed at a brunette who had her arms crossed and was leaning on the trucks hood, "-Nevaeh. She's just there to look at..." He smiled, "and occasionally she repairs the vehicles." Gashtin glanced at the man with tilted eyes. Nevaeh showed him her middle finger and smiled sarcastically. "Screw you Johnny" She said through her smile. "And I'm John. Your... environmental advisor. If you have any questions about the city, I'm the man to ask."

Gashtin looked at each of them. No judgment really came to mind. They were an odd looking bunch, but what where you going to do? Not a lot of people had the balls to hunt the kinds of things these guys saw on a daily basis. All of them were wearing street cloths. Nevaeh had a low cut T-shirt on with jeans, her hair was braided in a long tail that went to her waist. The two Latinos, Miguel and Eduardo, had the hands of mechanics themselves, No doubt from their day jobs.

"It's nice to meet you all." Gashtin said and waved.
They all replied in a like gesture. John wrapped his arm around Gashtin and took him over to one of the shelves, Mark, Stephen, and Ricky all followed. The others went about what they were doing. With a glance they started to list off the items.

Stephen began, "Allright, so, what we got here is a crucifix vest." He said in an accent that Gashtin couldn't place. "It should keep the buggers from grabbing hold of you for too long anyway. Though, its not field tested, today will be the first." He held up what looked to be a vest of steel rings, each tightly woven together. In the center of some of the rings were small crosses, they shinned brightly in the light and were all placed about an inch from each other.
"Are those silver?"
"Yeah. Please try not to lose this. Fucking thing was expensive." Stephen said and handed it to Gashtin.
"These are UV bands." Ricky said holding up a thin wire. "We all wear them around our extremities, neck, wrists, ankles, beltline, and chest area. Most of us have them imbedded into our cloths already. You can active them with a quick rotation of your wrist or we can do it manually from the vehicles. The vamps hate em." Gashtin picked one up and examined it. Looked like a normal piece of wire incased in a thin plastic sheath.
"This is what we are going to be running tonight. Sault and garlic rounds for the .45 and if things get really hairy we have silver plated rounds for the M4. But boy..." Mark said looking at Gashtin with wide eyes.
"-expensive." Gashtin said what the man seemed to forget.

It didn't take long for everyone to get dressed and load up into the vehicles. The truck had a string of large lights that covered its cab and when they pulled out of the garage a large van with the same kind of configuration was sitting there. Everyone but Gashtin had a leather jacket over their normal street clothes, they were like a well organized gang. Gashtin was in his all black priestly attire, crucifix armor under his shirt, crucifix around his neck, .45 at his waist. He felt a wave of anxiety wash over him.

Eduardo was driving the van as it pulled over to the long Vegas strip. "They already know us I think, why don't you jump out and start walking Gashtin? We wont be far behind you." Gashtin didn't want to get out, he was comfortable, safe. His hand trembled as he put his long trench coat on. Tt was hot here but he wanted to be sure his gun was hidden from the general public. Without a word he took the handle of the backdoor to the van and hopped out.

Walking down the Vegas street was bright and well populated. Most would find comfort in the large crowds, safety, but he knew that others were skilled at hiding, almost using the crowds as a shield, hiding among the people. The truck pulled past him as the van lingered a few streets behind. He tried not to worry about his new companions, tied to trust them and focus on the mission. Come on out you sons of the devil. He thought, turning down a long alleyway.