Chapter Text
March, 2019 – Canada
It was a dark, chilly evening outside. Not quite winter and not quite spring, the late March weather made it so that few wanted to be out of their homes. Which, for some people of dubious morality, made it a glorious time to be out in the streets.
Two such creatures of said moral leanings were flying in from a distant location, and boy were their arms a tired joke that still gets laughs in their social circles. The pair, an Eastern red bat and a Grey long-eared bat, were making a beeline from the sparsely populated streets of the city and to the suburbs nearby, ignoring the usual victims their kind prey upon; the homelessness population, sex workers trying to make end’s meet, people of lower income still working with no time to rest or animals who were born wild or just tossed out on the streets by cruel, cruel people. But the pair had no time for them tonight. The pair knew future victims would be there anyhow, thanks to the ‘warm blooded people’ who ran society.
Within the hour, the pair had made it to their destination; Ticky Tack Estates, a large suburb where very little of it looked like it was planned by people who knew what they were doing and instead became a force for the societal disease known as urban sprawl. Roads and roads of house were stretched out as far as the human eye could see; some had pools, some had gazebos, some had pools and many had pools and gazebos and dysfunctional owners with underlying problems that would erupt at an inappropriate time, leaving many as casualties in the eruption.
It was the Eastern red bat that had flown down to the ground first, while the Grey long-eared bat glided slowly but softly behind. Taking a look around, they could see a few homes with their lights still on and their occupants tucked in for the night. The two could now begin their work, at long last.
The two bats shifted their shapes; bones expanded to size with ample crunches, leathery wings subsided into their bodies, ears shrank and teeth grew and clothing would cover their formerly nude bodies. The pair were finally who they really were; vampires on a holy mission from their masters overseas in the great city of black jasper and eternal gloom.
“Are you ready, my bride?” the male vampire asked. He was dressed in fine clothing from head to toe; a sharp three piece suit accessorized with spats for his dress shoes, pitch black eyeglasses, a bright red silk ascot and a crimson cloak with pure gold buttons and a high pointed collar.
“Of course I am, my Lord and master” replied the female vampire. She too, was dressed immaculately. Anything less would sicken him; He had gotten her a dress modelled after the type worn during the late Baroque period, though with some Victorian adjustments and modern stylizing of her liking. She also wore black and red striped thigh high stockings, triangular framed glasses with lilac lenses and a choker necklace with a beautiful red pendant, shaped to look like a drop of blood; a present for their first year together.
“Excellent” the male smiled, his fangs visible and as sharp as ever. “Then let us spread our gospe!”
The pair walked over to a row of homes that would serve as their first targets. Days earlier, they had intercepted a local mail carrier truck and mesmerized the driver for information on the inhabitants of this neighbourhood; The pink house, the green house and the yellow house were unsuited for the task as one had too many people there, another had too many guns and the other had too many people and guns in the vicinity. But the blue house, that one would serve them quite excellently.
The blue two story home didn’t look the best in shape, despite the authoritarian homeowner’s association’s strict rules. There was some wear and tear, the roof needed new shingles and there were repairs needed for the porch. The two were eager to get inside, as their reconnaissance had shown that the woman who owned the house wasn’t close to many people and that no one would worry if she disappeared suddenly; plenty of time to get the deed done and leave without a trace.
Now in the driveway of their intended target, the male vampire concocted schemes in his head. “Listen carefully, my sweet” he told his subordinate. “We need some sort of fool proof plan to get inside, its a grave sin to go into a home uninvited. We need an idea that’s tricky, delightfully devilish and fiendishly clever in its intricacies...”
While her lover prattled off a series of plans to no one but himself, the female vampire decided to take direct action and cut the proverbial Gordian knot. She bent down to get a good sized rock off the ground, remembered her time at school playing baseball and threw the rock as hard as she could at a nearby car, shattering its windshield window.
With the car alarm blaring for all to hear, the female vampire was quite proud of herself for her intuitive solution, something she had honed from playing point and click adventure videogames. Little did she know, her lover was infuriated that she stole his spotlight and vowed to punish her for overriding his authority. But that would have to wait, as the homeowner slammed the door open.
“Turn off your damn car alarm!” she cried, hoping to get her complaint out over the current ruckus. “I’ve got work early in the morning!”
The vampires were so excited by the opportunity now presented to them, they could practically drool in anticipation. They could now see that the homeowner was a black woman with vitiligo on the left side of her face and all around her neck. She was wearing a comfortable long sleeved t-shirt, raggedy sweat pants and fuzzy slippers, looking like someone was about to go to sleep. They hoped that this would mean she would be more defenseless than expected.
The female vampire, once again, had an idea to take advantage of the chaos around them. But the male vampire pushed her out of the way, almost causing her to fall flat on her bottom. He was (pardon the pun) dead set on making sure he would not be overshadowed a second time tonight.
“Excuse me, could you please help us!” he said, loud enough to get the homeowner’s attention but quiet enough to get his plan in motion. “We’d be ever so thankful!” he added, grabbing his partner over to his side while squeezing her hand as hard as he could, as further retribution.
The homeowner stepped off the porch and jogged to the couple in front of her. “I can barely hear you, can you please come in my house to talk to me?” she pleaded. The male nodded as hard as he could to show that he had heard her. As soon as the three of them stepped into the entry way, the car alarm had finally stopped.