A Little Recreation
1302 Words
"I'm sorry I missed your calls, Christopher. Are you alright?" Thea had relaxed into an oversized chair, having tried in vain to immerse herself in the novel Hans had chosen for her. She had given up after an hour, traipsing into the living room to retrieve her purse, only to find her purse missing.
She was acutely disappointed, of course, but she had learned eons ago, material things didn’t matter much. Everything was replaceable. She returned to the bedroom, looking over Han's things he had lain out on the basin in the bathroom.
She borrowed his cell, thinking he surely wouldn't mind. Locating a place of refuge, she dialed the number she knew by heart. She was certain Christopher Colton had tried to call her. Of course he had. He would have been terribly frantic, not knowing her whereabouts and all.
He was a dear friend. A lovely friend.
"Hello, my love. Is everything all quiet on the Western Front?" She had waited patiently for once while the call connected.
"Me?" Christopher had hastily answered the cell, concentrating on driving, but eager to answer all in-coming calls this day. "Me, alright? Where the hell have you been, Thea, that you couldn't pick up a damned phone?"
"I got staked." She bemoaned the fact.
"...Excuse me?" Christopher looked at the phone as if it were insane, then hastily put it back to his ear.
"Yeah. I really hate that." Althea did. "Really! Don't you?"
"Who the hell would–"
"Good old Hans, of course. Although," the girl squinted slightly as something occurred to her, "admittedly, there is probably a goodly sized queue by now waiting in the wings for just such an opportunity, truth told. What's that all about?" She demanded to know.
"Where is Hans now, Althea?" Christopher was more than confused, but knew how to draw the horrid details out of the female when necessary. "I told you to stay put, didn't I? Now you're out traipsing about, God knows where, getting your ass staked by God knows what kind of..."
"You sound just like dad." Thea sulked. "If you're going to yell at me–"
"No!" Christopher calmed his temperament. "...No, I'm done yelling for the moment, so stay on the line or I will come stake your ass. Now, where are you?"
"I don't know." The blonde glanced around her surroundings, getting up to peek out the shuttered windows for the hundredth time. "It’s like some gloomy old mausoleum. There are trees and more trees and some pond or other over there." She pointed it out. "He moves too fast for me to follow in normal time. Can he do that?"
"Obviously," Christopher explained patiently, “because he did."
"Well, I've never heard of it." Thea hadn’t.
"Well, you have experienced it." Christopher reminded.
"He kidnaped me and staked me, and I want him dead. Well," she quantified that statement, "you know what I mean. Come rescue me, Christopher. I don't like it here. He doesn't even have a television set. And if he did, it probably wouldn't even have cable."
"What has he said about abducting you?" Christopher steered the conversation where he needed it to be. "Anything at all?"
Thea glanced at the cubicle across the way. "He says he's protecting me from evildoers."
"He said that?"
"I paraphrase, of course." The woman rolled her eyes.
"Has he threatened you other than," Christopher shrugged mentally, "the little staking incident?"
Thea thought hard. "No, but I didn't do anything."
Christopher knew what that meant. "You have to call me again. Give me an hour to get to my friend. He can trace the call."
"Oh, good! You are so smart, Christopher! I knew you would think of something!"
"You have access to a phone, right? This isn't your number." He had noted the number on his screen.
"I can borrow his."
"Does he know you are borrowing it, Althea?" "He won't mind."
Christopher shook his head to clear it. "Just call me. In an hour." He sought out Alex Wilder, who had listened in on all said for a goodly spell now. "What time is it."
"I don't know. He's not into time. There aren't any clocks around." She had checked already.
"I wasn't speaking to you," Christopher said.
"Almost three." Alex informed the other being.
"Call me at four. Find a f*****g clock. Alright?"
"Are you speaking to me?" Althea asked. "It’s good to hear your voice, Christopher."
"It’s good to hear yours, baby, and yes, I'm speaking to you." He held his smile. "Do not
forget to call, promise."
"My most excellent promise." She remembered.
The Master Vampire smiled. "Good girl. I'll come fetch you, my most excellent promise."
Thea hung up, in a much better frame of mind, suddenly. She went back to her novel.
Maybe now she could concentrate.
*****
"What about Marcus?" Alex queried, watching as Christopher took the first exit ramp off the freeway.
"I only wanted to know about his daughter. I know now."
"I need to talk to him."
"Alex?" Christopher threw the being a glare. "Stay the hell away from that guy. You don't want to mess with him. Providence saved our ass, so say thank you and let’s move forward, okay?"
Alex fell into a brooding silence. Christopher cast him occasional looks, but other than that, he concentrated on getting to his computer expert. Things were looking up. He had a goal. He was a doer. He accomplished things. That's what he did. He was good at it.
*****
Edwin lay in his cubicle, awake. Unable to slip into that deep sleep that would renew his
energy.
He could sense the female and knew when she left the room. It had irritated him at first, for he thought she was reneging on her word to remain with him. But she had returned quickly enough, so he allowed her the freedom to roam his home, exploring.
A part of him found her curiosity refreshing.
At least she could amuse herself, he reasoned. That was something.
He had no clue as to why he was...what? What term should he apply to the emotions he was experiencing?
Edwin still felt troubled over what he had said to the female, as he knew he had hurt her.
Why it troubled him was a mystery. Females, in general, had never troubled him in any sense. They had, in reality, never entered the equation.
From the beginning, he had trained, focused his abilities, conditioned his body, mentally prepared himself for victory against his opponents.
It was what he was. What he had become.
Some said he was the best. The elite in his field of endeavor. He put no real credence in such remarks. It was merely a task he had been assigned to perform. One, he was relatively good at, apparently, for he still lived.
There were the early years when he had taken pride in his accomplishments. After centuries, his perspective had changed. He remembered, at one time, a long time ago, feeling a calling of sorts. It was his duty to protect his kind.
Even that had passed away.
Now, he was called forth; he named his price, which was increasingly higher and higher, for his respect for those he served had long since diminished. He had no more illusions.
He performed the assigned tasks, then retreated to his haven in his homeland. Females were conveniences he allowed himself as a male, nothing more.
He allowed no emotional involvement. He never drew blood. No female had ever touched his soul, if indeed he still possessed one. He gave way to their baser instincts, for their need to sate their hunger in his body.
He was strong emotionally and mentally; he blocked his mind from their intrusion.
- Writer
