Squeaky awoke the next morning, grabbed a shower, and kissed his lovely wife tenderly on the cheek as she slept. A quick of her neck assured him the wound from his bite had healed entirely. Vampire saliva had powerful regenerative powers, healing wounds rapidly. Sometimes, when his wife got a cut or a scratch, he would have her wash it and then he would lick the wound and put a bandage on it. It always healed in a few hours, leaving her both grateful and impressed.
He supposed it was a quality that had slowly evolved in his kind to ease the effects of biting on a vampire’s host. Most humans were accommodating to vampires because the saliva took out the sting of the bite and healed the wound so fast.
Squeaky thought briefly that if he had to look at his wife’s neck bruised and torn skin all the time it would rip at his heart, making him extremely reluctant to feed from her. When faced with the choice between love and feeding, most Vampires would choose love every single time. Food could be had in the form of synth-blood, blood bags or even animal blood in a pinch. Love was a much more elusive thing for a Vampire to find. Being consistently denied tenderness led most vampires to value love above all things.
Squeaky pulled up the blanket around his wife in a protective gesture before slipping off to continue his life of crime. He sighed as he began to worry about how to extricate himself from his unsavory day job. The gang of criminals he worked with would not take kindly to him just walking off. Then there was his vampire brother sitting in the warehouse to worry about. Damn, his plate was totally full of worry, and it was only nine in the morning.
Heading out to his vehicle, Jake wandered up with a cup of sim-coffee. Though it smelled wonderful, Squeaky had no taste for its bitterness. Since he’d fed only hours before, he’d grabbed a bottle of water to help himself stay hydrated.
“You look like a rock star today. What’s up with that?”
Shrugging, Squeaky replied blandly. “Getting fed properly has that effect.”
“No, there’s something else going on.”
“Alyese and I spoke last night. I shared things about my past that I’ve never dared to speak to anyone about. I believe your sister really accepts me.” Unable to keep the smile off his face, Squeaky climbed into the driver’s seat.”
“You’re honestly the world’s biggest idiot. Alyese has been absolutely crazy about you front the first moment she set eyes on you.”
Squeaky’s mouth went dry as he realized that his wife could not have possibly loved the real him, as he only recently began to share his true thoughts and feelings with (her)him. Luckily she happened to be accepting of the things he shared. It worried him to lose that acceptance if she discovered his secret life of crime. Realizing his newfound sense of self-respect and the innocent acceptance his wife had for him were both on the line, gave him a newfound sense of purpose.
Parting ways with his brother-in-law, Squeaky headed for the abandoned warehouse, to check on his vampire brethren. He streamed the news as his hovercar made its way through the programmed route. News that he was missing was being blasted on every station, along with a hefty reward for information leading to his whereabouts. Squeaky clicked through all the possible ways to alert the authorities without getting his crew arrested. No good options came immediately to mind. He worked different scenarios out in his brain all the way to their remote meeting spot.
Entering the warehouse, he noticed that his boss had procured fresh blood for their guest. To his mind, that was a good sign. It meant they wanted to keep healthy for the time being. Relief surged through him as he realized that fact alone gave him^ to figure something out. He walked over to the vampire chained to the floor. He was still out cold but seemed otherwise unharmed.
Josh and Faran were picking at each other as they played a game of cards. Squeaky sat quietly and began scrolling through the local news. After a job, he paid close attention to see if any clues leaked out to the press. He could find nothing to indicate they were on the radar of the local authorities.
The day turned into evening and the large vampire chained to the floor did not move. The fourth member of their crew joined them with food in the late afternoon. Little Joe handed him a small synth-B pouch and dropped two large pizza’s on the table for the rest of his crew.
Sipping on the pouch of synthetic blood, Squeaky was worried again about why Alex Shardon was not awake. Finishing his dinner, he tossed the pouch in the trash. Just when he was thinking of checking on their guest again, when Faran got up, strolled across the room and gave his chains a good yank. The lethargic man moved to a sitting position.
Faran boasted, “You owe me sixty large, Little Jo. I told you the animal tranq would have him down for days.”
“We took him down around noon yesterday. It’s only four pm. That hardly qualifies as days.”
The Kalian replied, “Over one day is days. Pay up, little man.”
Josh stood up walked over and looked down at the clearly confused man. Looking over his shoulder, he spoke. “Squeaky, Feed him, the boss wants him kept healthy. That means no toying with him. I don’t want so much as a bruise on his skin.” Turning to Faran, his voice dropped a level. “Are you listening to me, Kalian?”
“I have a name, use my name. I use your name when I address you, Josh. It is discourteous to…”
Josh instantaneously stepped forward into the large alien’s personal space. “Fine. Faran, do not hit, punch, slap, scratch, or otherwise injure the hostage until we receive orders to do so. Am I understood?” Standing face-to-face with almost their noses touching, Josh waited for Faran to acknowledge the directive.
Faran swallowed thickly and for the briefest of seconds, Squeaky though he was going to kiss him, again. Instead, Faran held himself in check, giving a slight nod of understanding. When Josh spun on his heel, Faran watched a split second too long as the other man walked back across the room and sat back down at the card table. Squeaky had a hard time deciding if he liked it better when they were sleeping together or when they feigning for each other. They're on again, off again relationship was getting tiresome for the rest of the crew.
Heating a blood bag under running water, Squeaky tried not to stare at the man who was only just noticing him. When it was adequately heated, he went to his vampire brother. Pulling the end off of the tube that came out the bottom of the blood bag, Squeaky put it to the man’s lips like a straw. “Drink, my brother. You have been unconscious for a day and a half. Your thirst must be great.”
Turning his head slightly, he responded quietly. “I’m sorry, but I drink only synthetic blood.” His voice was dry and the poor man almost choked the words out.
Squeaky felt his brows furrow. “I do not think the others will care about your personal preferences. If you want to feed, this is your chance.”
As always, Faran was anxious and tightly wound when they had a live one on their hands. Apparently still aggravated by the disagreement with Josh, he noticed them speaking. Jumping to his feet, he yelled. “What are you two talking about? Get away from him, Squeaky.”
Josh shot Faran an exasperated look, walked over to the two of them, and gave him a questioning look. “It’s been a long day, Squeaky. If we could just cut to the chase that would be great. What’s the problem?”
“The gentleman says he does not drink human blood. He will only drink synthetic blood.”
Josh stooped down and looked Alek in the face for a brief moment, then slowly pulled a $20.00 bill out of his pocket and gave it to the small vampire, saying, “Just get him synthetic, Squeaky. They have by-one-get-one at the gas station across the street.”
As Squeaky tried to ask the man what kind of Synth-B he preferred, their conversation was drowned out by Faran.
“So you are purchasing the food of choice for our hostages now? You’re getting soft, Joshua. And you’re even more of a fool than I ever imagined possible.”
Josh stood up, walked back to the table, and picked up his cards. He glanced over at their hostage a brief moment before speaking. “You know something, Faran? You and the vampire are both aliens to be sure, but there are only a couple of real differences between you. The most obvious difference is that you’re a criminal and he’s not. You and I do some pretty awful things to other people all the time. He didn’t do anything to anyone.”
Faran nodded his agreement so far, and Josh continued, “The less obvious difference is that you don’t seem to be the least bit selective about what goes between your lips. There are no standards there, whatsoever, that I can see. The vampire refuses to drink our blood. That is called having and sticking to a principle, which is hard to do, particularly in a situation like this. If you really want to know, that’s why I would buy him dinner and not you.”
Shit, Josh did not just say that to the already out of control Faran. Squeaky was certain the human was referencing the fact that his one-time lover wasn’t sucking the correct rod in Josh’s opinion. Since the moment they’d separated after their last tryst turned heated, Josh seemed intent on treating Faran like the world’s biggest man whore. Faran was far too thick to realize Josh’s insults were driven by jealousy rather than generalized disrespect.
Before anyone could respond, Furan’s eyes flashed black. It was the way with his kind when their temper flared. He promptly picked up the card table and threw it against the wall. The other two men did not seem perturbed at all, they just stood staring at him, until he stalked out of the room, cursing.
Little Jo, burst out laughing, righted the table and began gathering the cards back up. Though they had long since become used to Faran blowing his top every now and then, this felt different. He murmured to Josh as he passed, “Beware that you don’t push the Kalian too far.”
“He’ll be fine. Steer clear of him out there, ya hear?”
“I will do my best.”
Upon exiting the building, he found Faran was nowhere to be seen. Climbing into his hover car, he headed down the long isolated road to the gas station Josh had described as across the street. It was more like seven miles down a long lonely secondary road and across the street. He snagged a couple of bags of regular Synth-B and headed back to the warehouse.
On his way from the vehicle to the door, he was blindsided by Faran. Giving him a shove against the hard exterior of the building, he snarled angrily. What’s so gods damned special about vampires?”
“Nothing, leave me alone.”
Grabbing him by the neck, Faran leaned in so close that Squeaky could feel the man’s hot breath against his cool skin. “Human’s love their vampires above all the other aliens who landed in those ships. The part I can’t figure out is why?”
“They don’t. You’re letting your emotions get the better of you again.”
Squeezing tighter around his neck, Faran pulled him forward and hurled him to the ground. Since the Kalian was almost twice his size and had hands the size of his head, there wasn’t a good chance Squeaky would come out unscathed in a physical altercation with his longtime friend.
“Humans are all different, and not all of them prefer vampires. Josh is pissed about you tossing him aside. Making you jealous is his way of getting even.” Coming to his feet, Squeaky tried to dust his clothing off. He could feel a trickle of blood ooze from his bottom lip. “The real question is why do keep letting him get to you?”
“I don’t…I…shouldn’t. I’m sorry.”
Shaking his head, Squeaky looked at his still seething friend. “You are forgiven. Why don’t you go burn off some steam, before you go another round with our smart-mouthed leader?”
Sighing, Faran slapped at an overhanging sign, jutting out from the side of the building. “I suppose you’re right. Thanks for not going off on me.”
“You two are going to need to work your shit out, before one of gets mangled in the middle.”
Snatching up his bag of blood, Squeaky headed into the warehouse.
Taking one look at him, Josh threw his cards down on the table and cursed under his breath. “I swear that dumb ass Kalian is going to be the fucking death of me.” Turning to him, Josh spoke up in a frustrated voice. “Just stay the hell away from Faran when he’s pissed. God, you should know that by now, Squeaky.”
Shaking his head, Squeaky waved away the attention. “Faran is harmless. He just likes to shout it out when he is angry. You know, for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. If you make him angry, he is going to show it. What exactly did you think was going to happen when pushed him too far, Joshua?”
Josh stared at his hand like it had suddenly grown another finger, making it the most fascinating appendage in the entire world.
Squeaky opinioned quietly. “The humans have a saying about flies and honey. Perhaps you have heard of it.”
Storming out the door, Josh appeared a slightly panicked. Little John followed him.
Squeaky murmured, “Yes, do go that before our impulsive friend is balls deep in his next conquest.
Squeaky sat down beside Alek, took out a bag of synthetic blood, and stuck the straw that came with it into the correct spot. He held it up, nodding. “Thank you, my thirst is great.”
Sitting with their clearly confused guest, Squeaky smiled slightly. Handing him a half-liter Synthetic blood bag, Squeaky spoke casually. “I do not know what you did to these people, but they seem unsure what they should do with you. I am not certain you are safe with the Kalian. I will try to stay with you, my vampire brother, but if he wants to harm you, as you can see, I am no match for him.”
The man lifted up his chain. “If not for these, I would be more than a match for him.”
“Trust me, they know exactly what you could do if you weren’t chained. It’s why they chose to drop you using the large animal tranq before they took you. It’s also why they are never going to take the chains off until they decide what to do with you.”
The other man nodded his understanding, sending his dark shoulder length hair falling over his shoulder. Alex Shardon had an impressive war record and had received several Medals of Honor for his marksmanship skills, battle tactics, and something called valor in battle.
Squeaky, put his finger on the scanning plate on his wrist cuff and nothing happened. The man glanced up, and he clarified, “Just in case you were wondering, I cannot open your cuffs.”
The other man’s clear blue eyes gazed into his. “Can you get word to the police?”
Squeaky frowned, shaking his head. “Not if I want to live. The syndicate we work for has informants at the police station. Honestly, he would know immediately if I betrayed him.”
Sighing, Mr. Shardon sipped another drink of his Synth-B before responding thoughtfully. “I am wealthy. Perhaps I can buy my way out of this mess.”
Smiling faintly, Squeaky replied. “They do love money, my friend.”
Little Joe came back within an hour to relieve him. Squeaky felt terrible for the vampire humans did not know what to do with. He racked his brains to figure out a way out of this situation for the both of them.
Squeaky spent the entire next day looking for work that would make his wife proud. He pulled up the data stream associated with employment needs in the area and began searching for respectable job. He communicated with several potential employers and spoke to one in person. He could not see himself being happy working for a meat packing plant, but he would take whatever got him into honest employment.
Heading home early, he spent time with his wife after she got off work. They planted flowers along their walk, and he trimmed their shrubs with his laser trimmer in a delicate formation that pleased her. He sighed as he realized that it really didn’t matter what they were doing together; as long as they were together, they were happy. This could be his life if only he weren’t tied to the syndicate.