TRI-BLOOD

“Sam, I promise, this is going to be fun.” Luca tried desperately to convince his friend. Sam, knowing that it was almost impossible to dissuade his friend from a bad notion, especially when his mind was this set, tried one last time. “You don't know what we will be walking into. We don't even know any of these guys, and I don't feel comfortable about this.” “C’mon, the flyer said ‘OPEN TO ALL.’ There will be lots of other people there, not just us. What could happen to a multitude of people?” Luca argued. Seeing that his friend was not sold, Luca used the ultimate strategy: “You know, this might be our opportunity to lose our virginity finally. There will be lots of beautiful women there; who knows, we might finally get lucky.” At that point, Sam knew that he had lost the argument. Who was he to say no to an opportunity to finally lose their virginity? They had just turned eighteen and were hoping to get lucky as soon as possible so they could boast to their friends. Sam, taking a deep breath, replied, “Ok, let’s go. But promise that at the first sign of trouble, we will get out of there. I don't want to get involved in a gang clash or whatever.” “Hey, stop being such a p***y; no wonder you can't get any pussy.” Luca laughed, feeling cheesy. “See what I did there?” He added, smacking his friend on the back of the head and running towards the clubhouse from where the loud music was coming. Sam chased him as they both ran to the clubhouse. At the door stood two mean-looking men, barring the way, and when the two boys tried to get in, the men just stared at them, refusing to let them in. “Unfortunately, for the next hour, no one is allowed to enter or leave, so you can either wait or go back home to your mummy, boys,” the taller of the bouncers said dismissively. The two boys exchanged glances, not knowing what to say. No entry or exit for the next hour? Why? What kind of clubhouse stops people from entering or leaving, for that matter? Something seems fishy. “Ash, you shouldn't waste your time explaining anything to these riffraffs.” The shorter of the bouncers said to his colleague. Sam, who had been feeling antsy all this while, pulled Luca away. When they got far enough to talk without being heard, the boys stared at each other, feeling defeated. Then Luca raised his head, staring at the two bouncers as if assessing them. Sam, knowing his friend too well, immediately spoke up, “Hey, I know that you really want to be in that clubhouse, but right now I want you to think with your head- no rash decisions. Those men look like they could knock you unconscious with just a punch. So there is no way we can take them down.” Luca smiled, still staring at the bouncers from afar. “And who said we need to take them down? We just have to make them believe that we have given up and we are going home. Then turn around and locate the back door.” “But who said the back door wouldn't be guarded also?” Sam asked. “Of course the back door is also guarded, but only by one bouncer. And he will be easier to get past.” Luca answered, feeling proud of his genius strategy. Sam rolled his eyes, not feeling too sure of the plan. “I don't know why you are so adamant about this party. We could just go home and get a good night's sleep.” Luca shrugged and said, “We are here already, aren't we? And I am curious, what could be happening behind those closed doors? Can you imagine? What if they are having one huge orgy? I don't know about you, but I am burning with curiosity to know what could be happening.” “Alright, let’s go,' Sam conceded. The two walked away as if returning home, then took a detour immediately after they got out of the bouncers’ view. Locating the back door wasn’t difficult, and just as Luca had predicted, there was just one bouncer guarding it. While on the way, they had come up with a plan to distract the last bouncer at the back door. They planned to pretend as if they were coming from the front door, and pretend that there were lots of people there causing trouble, trying to force their way into the clubhouse. Luckily, while they had tried to get in at the front gate, they had heard the shorter of the bouncers call the taller one Ash, and that was all they needed. So after getting into position, out of sight of the back door bouncer, yet looking like coming from the front door, they broke into a sprint, breathing heavily. They ran and stopped in front of the mean-looking bouncer at the back door. Luca, pretending to catch his breath, addressed the bouncer, “Hey bro, Ash needs your assistance. There are so many people at the front door trying to force their way into the club, so he asks that you lend a hand if you are not too busy.” The bouncer stared at them as if he wasn't sure if he should believe them or not. As if reading his mind, Sam added, “You should blame Ash, not us. So stop giving us that look when we are only trying to help.” ‘The flippant use of Ash’s name makes them seem like they are quite acquainted with Ash. Anyways, I need to rush over and see what's going on. I don't want to get in trouble for making Ash wait. Ash can be very scary when angry.’ The bouncer thought to himself. Without thinking about things properly, he took off, running towards the front of the clubhouse. Luca and Sam, not wasting time, dashed towards the now unprotected door, swung it open, and barged into the dark doorway. Now that they were inside the building, the music was on full blast, almost deafening them. The corridor that they were in was pitch black, making them unable to see anything. All they could do was walk on, using the walls to the side as guidance. Then suddenly, the light came on, and what greeted them was a sight out of a horror movie. They found themselves at the entrance of a room. And in the room sat six people: five males and a female, and in their arms, they cradled six other people and were drinking blood from their necks. Wait! BLOOD!? The two friends stood transfixed, unable to believe their eyes. What the hell could be happening here? They just couldn't make sense of what transpired in front of them. As if to worsen their fears, one of the men raised his blood-filled mouth from his victim's neck and sneered at them. His mouth was filled with blood, and on the top of his teeth stood two long, pointy fang-like teeth. This must be the most realistic Halloween party they have ever attended. Moreover, who celebrates Halloween in mid-June? Halloween or not, they needed to get out of that room immediately. The atmosphere had turned hostile, and they certainly were not going to wait around to check if the Halloween props were real or not. But before they could take even a step in retreat, the sneer-faced guy pushed away his victim - who crumbled to the ground like a marionette without a spring - and stood in front of them in the blink of an eye. He grabbed the two boys in a chokehold. His grip was so tight and strong that their breath was cut off immediately. The boys struggled in vain to free themselves; his fingers felt like iron clamps around their necks- unyielding. “How did you get in here?” The man asked them, scowling. The boys, unable to make any sound, gestured to their throats as if to say they couldn't answer with his fingers around their necks. “Oh, you can't talk? My bad.” He laughed, releasing them. They both crumbled to the floor, gasping and heaving, trying to fill their lungs with oxygen. “So can you answer my question now? How did you silly rats get in here? How did you get past Doren and the rest at the door?” Sneer-face asked, truly intrigued. The two boys shared a look, and in that look, a silent message was passed. Without bothering to answer the question, they both stood up and dashed towards the door, hoping to get far away from the crazy man and the crazy clubhouse. But before they could take up to three steps, he stood in front of them, as if he had teleported. And before they could even come to a halt, he hit them on the chest with his open palm, sending them flying across the room. The two banged their heads against the wall and were knocked out. The room had gone quiet; all the sneer-face guy friends watched as the interesting scene unfolded, their victims forgotten. Sneer-face, whose name was Marco, and his fellow vampires stared at the unconscious bodies of the two intruders. And yes, Marco and his five friends were vampires, if that was your guess, and yes, they were feasting on the blood of their victims. The entire party was a ruse to attract unsuspecting humans so this group of friends could feast on them, and these two very unfortunate humans just presented themselves as part of the menu.