At0micAndy

Day 8 - part 2. “If you wanted hide Christine, I mean, really hide, where would you go?” “My mum’s.” “So, Vanessa’s mum passed away some years ago. Think again.” “Er, holiday cottage?” “Can you afford that in cash, will someone take cash, would you know where to go to get a holiday cottage in cash?” “Well that is the crux of it sir, we have to try and think of solutions that involve no money. Break into an empty house?” “Yes, they can then go to ground and consume what ever food is in the house, freezer or tinned or whatever.” “But that would only last them so long, then they would need to go out and get food.” “And that means money or a credit card, and we have had all of Vanessa Hilts cards stopped.” “The ones that we know about sir, same as her phone. Damn.” Christine slapped her forehead with her hand. “We missed a trick there sir.” “Don’t worry, Christine we all did, and so did the wonderboys. Get in touch with the mobile phone co

Day Eight The Best Laid Plans of Vampyres The four food thralls were moaning and complaining about stomach cramps. “Shit,” Vanessa said, “The one thing I forgot about was human food for the thralls, and then will need things like toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper, the girls will need sanitary towels and the like. Oh shit oh shit.” “So go shopping, take the Felcan, she might like the change of scene.” “I will need a car, and I want to go south to the big Mall in Bristol, I am more likely to get lost in a crowd there. I shall have to use the housekeeper’s car when she gets here. As to money, I shall just have to get some one to give me some cash, that’ll be easy.” “You could just get the housekeeper to get what you need, she can think Lord Addled Brain has some house guests.” “That won’t work Eldred, someone is paying the bills and they will wonder why there are suddenly guests. Amanda is ok, she has been going home every day for some good old fashioned home

Day 7 part 6 Vanessa was sitting nude in a chair, her knees to her chest, arms around her legs. She was angry. Eldred sat on the other side of the room a smile on his face. “That was so wrong” she said eventually. “What?” “You keep calling me your daughter, fathers do not have sex with their daughters, it is totally wrong.” “Well, in the several thousand years I have been alive, they have done. You have to stop this old, human, way of thinking. Sex is not for procreation amongst us, it is a taking or transferring of an energy, a primal power. You take it where you can, it strengthens you. “It is difficult to undo all the teachings of my life.” “Look into my memories daughter, and leave your own memories in a box, they are distracting you.” “My memories are who I am.” “No daughter, no, your memories are your old human self, who you were. Now you are Vampyre. It is dark outside, sardine time, put on your dress.”

Day 7 - part 5 “We must go and feed, I have the most disgusting taste in my mouth.” Vanessa spoke, her palate pressing against her tongue as if trying to force the taste of the tainted blood out of her mouth. “How the fuck do Vampyre taste buds even work anyway? Christ, sometimes I feel too fucking human. No, don’t answer that, I was just speaking aloud,” she said as Eldred had been about to answer. “We do not need to feed, no, we shall wait until later, just think how good the food will taste when cleansed.” “Dammit, I need to get this taste out of my mouth.” “Come my child, allow me, taste my blood, it will cleanse away the taste of the spoiled food.” Eldred tipped his head to one side and ran a nail down his skin, slicing the flesh and allowing his blood to seep. Unable to control herself Vanessa flew across the room, mouth wide open, and as she latched on his neck and bit she was unaware of her dress falling in her wake, nor did she notice as Eldred caught her

Day 7 - part 4 “I have elicited some support in your endeavour,” Ellery said, it seems that your concerns raised ripples here.” “I am not surprised, I would do more than ripple if I were where you are.” “Ah, but then you never will be here, will you Mavis?” “No, indeed not Ellery, indeed not, it is a pity that we did not meet when you were here, I am sure that a Wytch and a Wytchfinder would have made an interesting mix.” “Indeed Mavis, but then it was never your kind of Wytch that I sought.” “Indeed Ellery, did you ever realise that there was more than one kind? What an interesting education that could have been.” “You are baiting me madam?” “Just preparing you for the battle ahead Ellery, nothing more.” “The trick is going to be finding him.” “Oh, that won’t be a problem, just you make sure that you are ready, I am not keen to face a Vampyre alone, no, that is not something I relish.” “Indeed not otherwise Mavis Williams may no longer be hol

Day 7 - rehab part 3 Christine braked heavily and the car came to a stop, Bentley was out slightly quicker and headed to the rear of the house, but Christine was only a moment behind going straight to the front door. As Bentley came back to the front shaking his head, “long gone”, a car came to a halt and, at a slightly more leisurely pace DI Kahn and DI String sauntered up. “Oh hello,” Rebekah Kahn said, “I suppose I ought to say, ‘what a surprise’ seeing you here, but as we all know, it isn’t.” Her smile looked sweet but both Bentley and Jackson knew it was a mask hiding venom. “We assumed you had picked up the keys” Jason string added, “but just in case we bought the spare set that we had made.” “Hi Guys,” Bentley said, “of course I have the keys, by the way Christine, that’s a fiver I owe you. We had a bet you see, I said that you would be here before us, Christine said after.” A complete fabrication but he guessed Christine would pick up and play along. He didn’t wa

Day seven, part 2 Although Eldred had her memories and thus knew how to drive, technically at least, Vanessa had no confidence that he would actually be competent behind the controls of anything. She had therefore gone to the hire centre and picked up a mini bus. They would need it for their batch of food donors, the rental clerk had no idea that he had given her the keys to the minibus, and had filled out forms in a completely fictitious name. She planned to get the minibus back well before the end of the day. After picking up the minibus she had driven past her house, there seemed no sign of activity, her front door was repaired and she doubted her key would work, the police would be sure to have changed the lock. Fortunately her house had a back door she and a back door key hidden in the garden. She pulled up about 100 yards beyond her house, she cut through the field and approached from the rear, moving at her fastest speed, she doubted that she would be noticed even if anyon

Day Seven – Rehab part 1 Long John was eating his breakfast of cold toast, watching as a black panther wandered past and then settled down laying across his feet. ‘Invisible things that couldn’t possibly exist seemed so real these days’ he thought. He was totally unsurprised when next he looked down to see a naked girl on his feet. ‘Seems to happen a lot these days’ his brain reminded him. “Your plan then daughter?” Eldred asked. “You recall I was a nurse in my old life.” “A role you could go back to, it could have had its uses to us.” Eldred commented. “Indeed until my life got fucked up and I became a fugitive rather than a simple victim.” “You could still say I kidnapped you, held you in that old chapel, and that you only escaped by bashing me through the heart with a piece of wood at which point I burst into flames and vanished.” “None of that stuff works.” “No, but they don’t know that, and if they thought it did, it would probably help me escape o

Day 6 - part 4 DCI Alan ‘bones’ Maccoigh of Serious Crimes was in the conference room along with DCI Adam Hart, DI Chris Bentley, and DI’s Dick Jones, Rebekah Kahn, Jason String and Gurpindar Singh all of Serious Crimes. Bones and his team had come in at CPO Steven Hunt’s instruction, there having been no significant developments during the day. Bentley was a bit pissed off, convinced that no one could have come any closer to capturing the culprits. He had, at Adam Hart’s request, run through all the facts that they had to hand. There was now a general brain storm. DCI Alan ‘bones’ Maccoigh: What if Hilt is just a victim? Bentley: Munchausen Syndrome? Gone over to the other side perhaps DI Dick Jones: The bones in the crypt, what of them? Bentley: Just regular old bones, they had not been buried in earth. DI Rebekah Kahn: So we need to get that crypt opened then. Bentley: We don’t have the equipment available. DI Rebekah Kahn: Did you ask an undert

Day 6 part 3 “They will need to go to ground Christine.” Bentley was siting backwards on a chair, musing aloud looking at the map on the wall which now included a pin on the far side of the river. “How many do you think ‘they’ are sir? I still am not happy about the murder being the first offence followed by the rapes, and then another rape and murder. It does not sound like the MO of one person. And then Vanessa Hilt is missing, do we presume she is dead, awaiting discovery, or is part of them? Sir?” Christine wanted the benefit of her DI’s experience, his thoughts. She had her own ideas, but did not really want to speak them aloud, not yet.” Bentley twirled the chair around and started to rock back and forth. “Okay, right. Well. Let’s think this through again, but from the perpetrators perspective. You write on the board.” Christine picked up the blue marker and stood waiting his words. “One,” he said, “there is a chemist. Some clever arse has come up with a ne

Day Six - part 2 “Amanda, you know this area, is there anyone who lives alone, anyone that lives with no neighbours, anywhere we could go and stay for a while?” Vanessa knew that they could not establish themselves if they were on the run, and they could not keep ahead of the police hiding in a pill box. Amanda lay nude in her human form, having just changed back. Eldred was stroking his long finger nails through her hair. Vanessa thought that if she could, Amanda would be purring. “There is old Long John Silver, he was a rock star and fried his brain on drugs. He lives alone in the big old house at Elmore Lock. That is really all I can think of.” Vanessa nodded to herself, yes, she had heard he lived around here somewhere. He had dropped so much acid in the seventies that one day, so they say, he went on a trip and never came back. He fit the bill of a recluse perfectly. “Do you know the way?” She asked Amanda. “We can follow the river trail, it goes past the ba

Day Six – To Ground “Sir” Christine said as Bentley walked into the office, his Costa Coffee at his lips as he walked. “Morning Christine. What’s new then, has our old boy turned himself in?” “No Sir, ‘fraid not sir, but there has been another body sir.” “Conference.” He didn’t stop at his desk he just walked straight into the conference room, which by now was the unofficial centre for the hunt for the serial rapist. DCI Hart had indicated at the end of yesterday that results need to come in soon, or the case would have to be escalated. Bentley had until the end of today, and if no further progress was made, then the CPO wanted it referring to the Serious Crime boys. Bentley had shrugged, he doubted anyone could have done more than he, and putting more people on the case risked it getting out into the public. And then there would be panic. He new the Chief, he liked things to be kept quiet, indoors so to speak. Bentley took his Costa Coffee into the conference room

Day Five Transformed part 3 There was a low round concrete structure just above the high tide mark, an old Pill box from the war, and they made their way inside. It seemed long untouched, no rats or other small creatures, not even birds had made it home. They sat down to recover in the semi darkness and catch their breath. “Running over the estuary is a neat trick,” Vanessa said, “but it takes it out of me.” “Indeed, it is a little at the edge of what I believe we can do. I am impressed, you have transformed much quicker than I expected. In my previous times it took much longer for the transformation to take effect.” “Yes, I know, I remember,” she laughed, ‘I have all of your memories, you really do go back a long way, I am going to enjoy sifting through those experiences, some of them taste really quite good.” “Yes, you will need to do that to gain my experiences so that you can learn to survive.” “What do you mean survive, I am immortal.” “As you said ea

Day Five Transformed part 2 The door knocked and Henry Adams opened it to see the Police woman from the investigation. “Yes?” He asked, “anything new?” “Hello Mr Adams, may I come in and speak with you and your wife.” Sat in the police woman’s car Henry could see a woman in what looked like a nurse’s uniform. “Why have you got a nurse with you?” “I’ll come to that in a moment Mr Adams, may I come in?” “S’pose.” He held the door wide and Christine went in to the tiny cottage. “Lee” he said, “P’lice here,” and shut the door too. Christine heard the bolt slide across the door and looking through to the back she could see that the back door was also shut. “Hello Leanne,” she said, “I know that this is an imposition, but, and I am not being insensitive by not asking how you are, but I cannot imagine what you are going through, and I am sure anything I say would just sound wrong.” “You any closer to catching him?” Leanne asked, her voice quiet. “Well, ac

Day Five Transformed  part 1 Bentley was in a bad mood and it pretty much meant everyone who didn’t have to deal with him kept out of his way. He had snarled at the girl pouring hi Costa Coffee when the lid wouldn’t go on right. He had glared at a WPC who took more than two manoeuvres to park a beat car in the car park, and he totally ignored the desk sergeant as he walked in and swiped through to the offices. He took a large scale map of this side of the estuary and went into the conference room, was annoyed at no blutak, walked out to he nearest desk and picked up the tape dispenser, just daring its occupant to complain, and walked back into the conference room and stuck the map to the peg wall. He took the box of marker pins and began marking locations. The Old Mission. The boys body dump. The houses of the three attacked women. And then he stood back turned a chair backwards and sat looking at it as he drank his coffee. “Sir” Christine Jackson said as she stood behind