#6: Tough Luck

Desmond gets in a fight at the mall.

Well, of course I as on edge. My master hadn't really wanted me to venture outdoors until he had figured out what was threatening me. At the same time, I had simply refused to stay locked inside with no rest to be found. I was still plagued by my visions whenever I tried to sleep. I had begged Alucard to talk to the master, to give me a task, to let me outside.
That was how I found myself out and about the next dusk at a mall. I had met Angelica there as she had requested, though I do not know why I needed to be so concerned about the human girl.
I slipped my hand into one pocket, touching the note once more. I had read it earlier, the Hungarian language taking time for me to interpret. Leave it to the master to write something that important in his native tongue. On a good note, there was no way anyone else would be able to read it.
That did not prevent me from losing it when it fell out of my pocket and was picked up by Angelica.
Maybe I should not have yelled at her. She probably was not used to the violence. She cowered when I reminded her that she was to stay out of my life other than to show me the ways of this new world I was in.
I began to relax slowly. Then something caught my eye. Across the lobby was a store that sold music disks. The name was odd: "Boogie Down", or something like that. I noticed that a pale individual was talking to the clerk, who seemed nervous. The man talking to the clerk appeared young, but his actions were poised, not limp and half-hearted like other youths.
"Desmond?"
I turned back to Angelica. She looked confused.
"I have to take care of something," I told her. "I shall return shortly. Stay here."
I made my way over to the record store, watching the man discreetly. I acted like any other customer would have, browsing through the tracks that I did not know. At one point, I even inquired as to whether or not this Jimmy Hendrix person was any good, which I was ridiculed for by the clerk. The other man began to look through the titles also, though I had a feeling that a record was not his true intention.
"How about 'The Beatles'?" I asked him. "They seem to be getting pretty popular, don't you think?"
"I don't keep track anymore. After a while, they all just become fads. In thirty years, they won't even know who the Beatles where," he scoffed.
"Hey," I slipped in, "do you know someone I'm looking for? They call him Paul Mason."
The man hesitated only seconds, but it was long enough for me to see.
"Nah, I don't know a Paul. Sorry."
"The master said you might claim that."
That was a shot in the dark. Had he not been who he was, he would have gone on like nothing. However, "Paul" knew what I meant. His eyes got really wide and he looked around.
"I'm here alone," I confessed. "Let's take this out back where the humans don't see it."
"I'm not going anywhere," he hissed back.
With a sigh, I whispered, "You already have, Mason. You left the master. You shouldn't have done that."
"You don't even know what he's doing, infant."
Sanity lost that fight. I swung a punch at him that made him spin hard enough to fall to one knee. I heard a yelp as the clerk dove to the floor and covered his head.
You did not expect Mason to go easily, did you? So sorry to disappoint, but he was on his feet in no time.
"Still think the humans won't see this?"
"Screw them," I hissed. "I'll kill you for what you've done."
This time, he tried to hook me with his right. I dodged it easily, ducking and forcing my left fist into his gut. Any human would have been breathless after a hit like that, if they even survived the internal damage. Mason, however, was one of our own.
He responded to my hit with his knee. My chin took the blow painfully as I fell backwards from the force. I heard something clatter as my body hit a shelf full of records. He laughed as I pushed myself up.
"Too much, infant?" he chuckled.
I hissed, not caring at this point who noticed my fangs. I dove at him, pushing him to the ground. We struggled with each other on the floor that way for a while. He managed to pin my arms to the floor and laughed as I struggled to fight him off. Splinters dug into my back.
Splinters! If I had my hands, I could…
Suddenly, something hit him in the side of the face. He turned to see Angelica, standing strongly with her arm ready to hit him again.
"Get off of him, you big bully!"
Oh, my God, she's an idiot!
It took his focus off of me, though, so I used the distraction to escape. With one hand, I scooped up a large chunk of an oak shelf we had broken. I spun quickly to a position behind Angelica. Once there, I used my other hand to hit one of her pressure points just enough to knock her out. She crumpled to the floor, allowing me to fight Mason in peace.
Mason swung at me again, finding its mark and cracking my jaw. Pain raced through my face, but I tried to ignore it. I gripped the wood chunk tightly, the tingling of the wood in my hand barely registering as pain. I threw my other fist at him, and I heard something pop out of place. I think it was his shoulder. Then I waited for the haze in my eyes to clear as Mason popped his shoulder back into place.
Once I could make out his form again, I ran towards him. He snarled and ran at me as well. Right before we collided, I raised the chunk of wood and positioned it to strike at his heart.
My aim was flawless.
Mason gasped before exploding into a cloud of thick dust. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that my own wounds would soon heal. I dropped the shrapnel before it could do more damage, watching as the tiny splinters were pushed out of my hand by my superhuman healing. With my other hand, I poked at my jaw, making sure that it was positioned correctly in my head, which it was.
The clerk was yelling at me to get out of his store. After all I had done for him, you would think he would be thankful. But no, he was screaming and ranting about how he would be the one to clean it all up. I rolled my eyes and began to leave. I made a mental note to get rid of the skinny guy later.
On my way out, I noticed Angelica lying on the floor in a pile of records. I paused, then, with a sigh, I lifted her over one shoulder and carried her out of the mall.
It was quite dark by now. I stopped outside of a cinema and sat the blonde on a bench. I knelt down in front of her and tried to shake her awake. I patted her cheek at one point before becoming worried. I pressed my head to her chest to listen for her heart.
It was still beating strongly. I smiled slightly and noticed that my teeth were poking into my lips. I pulled my head back to look up at Angelica.
For the first time, I noticed her scent; it was very sweet, almost seductive. I listened as her heart pounded in her chest, a sensation that I had not felt myself in a century except through others. The hunger was growing inside of me, making me second guess my resolutions. I did not want to change her or kill her, but if I got carried away, I would have no choice. She looked so good.
I glanced around quickly. There was no one in viewing distance. If I only took a little bite, maybe it would not affect her. I had never heard of an instance where any vampire had tried such a feat. There was no way to know without trying.
I inched forward, feeling a bit frightened that she might wake up before I had a chance to try it. I felt her shallow breath on my cheek and smelled the sweetness of it. I watched her face carefully as I pulled her throat to my lips.
I nuzzled her for a second to make sure that she was still asleep. When she did not move, I slowly opened my mouth.
"Hmm?"
I jerked back, alarmed by Angelica's moan. She blinked wearily at me as I stood in front of her, wide eyed in shock.
"Were you trying to kiss me?" she groaned.
"What?" I squeaked. "No!"
"Oh, good. 'Cause, I have a boyfriend."
I sighed in relief. I had never been so happy to know an idiot.
"What were you doing?"
I babbled a bit, saying, "Well, um, I thought that, well, I think you hit your head back there. I was, ah, checking for injuries?"
"Oh."
Oh, God, did she actually buy that?
"You'd better get home. It's late, it's dark, and it's dangerous out here," I told her, taking her hand and helping her to her feet.
"What happened anyway?"
I bit my lip.
"What was that?" she asked again, turning to look at me.
"Well," I confessed, "if I told you, I'd kind of have to kill you."
She stared at me with furrowed eyebrows. Then she looked past me at the cinema. Her eyes flickered back to me, then past me again. Suddenly, a beaming light of understanding lit her face.
"I see now," she gasped.
Confused, I turned around to look at the cinema. Next to the door, there was a large James Bond poster, advertising a new spy movie.
What next, I asked myself.

Author's Note

Tell me if something seems off, okay? Enjoy!