Fanfic Friday

“The Huntress at Sunset”

A continuation from last week's chapter.

Chapter Three

"So where did you go after your doctor's appointment yesterday?" asked Dusk as she cleaned up the breakfast dishes.

Alondra was tempted to ignore her little sister's question but she knew from experience that Dusk would only repeat it until she got an answer. So Alondra said, "Out."

"I know that, sis," said Dusk. "Out where?"

"I'm guessing she hit the cemetery," said Dusk's husband Leandro. "After all, old habits do die hard."

"No, I don't patrol anymore if that's what you two are hinting at," said Alondra. "I leave all that fun stuff to the younger girls."

"Oh, really?" asked Dusk. "So where did you go? Did you have a sudden urge to attend Midnight Mass or something?"

"No, not quite," said Alondra. "I just found myself in the mood to go out walking and I found myself back in the old neighborhood."

"Er, what old neighborhood?" asked Dusk.

"You know what I mean," said Alondra. "The one in Los Angeles."

"Wow!" exclaimed Leandro. "That must have been some long walk."

"Well, to be truthful, I did take the car at least partway," said Alondra.

"So why did you choose to go there?" asked Dusk. "You haven't gone there in ages."

"Well, last night I found myself feeling nostalgic," said Alondra.

"Oh, really?" asked Dusk. "How come?"

"Do I have to have a reason to feel nostalgic?" asked Alondra.

"No," said Dusk. "I was just worried that you might of got bad news from the doctor yesterday, that's all."

"Well, for what it's worth, I did get bad news from the doctor yesterday," said Alondra. "He gave me a year to live."

"Oh, Alondra!" cried Dusk.

"Don't worry, Dusk," said Alondra. "I got a plan."

"You do?" asked Dusk.

"Yes, I do," Alondra replied."You see I was talking to Persephone last night and --"

"Wait a minute," said Leandro. "What do you mean you were talking to Persephone?"

"Just what I said," said Alondra. "I ran into Persephone last night and we started talking."

"But you always told me that Persephone was your mortal enemy," said Dusk. "That you fully expected to have to kill her the next time you saw her."

"Well, what can I say?" asked Alondra. "I was wrong."

"No, you weren't," said Dusk. "What exactly did Persephone have to say to you?"

"Not much," said Alondra. "Just that she knew I was dying and that she knew a way around that and then --"

"Persephone is not a doctor, Alondra," said Leandro. "And she definitely is not a healer. So what could she possibly mean by --"

"I know what she means," said Dusk. "She was trying to talk my sister here into letting herself get turned into a vampire."

"No, she wasn't," said Alondra. "As a matter of fact --"

"Oh, please don't defend her," said Dusk. "You know as well as I do that Persephone has a way of telling her victims whatever they want to hear so that she can bite them with a lot less fuss than usual. I'm just surprised that you of all people forgot that."

"Hey, I did not forget that," said Alondra. "But after the day I had, Persephone's offer looked pretty tempting."

"Well, I'm glad you turned her down," said Leandro.

"Wait," said Alondra. "Are you saying you're glad I'm going to die?"

"Of course not," said Leandro. "But if you had agreed to let Persephone to turn you, you'd be dead even sooner than you would be if you had let nature take its course."

"You don't know that," said Alondra.

"And you do?" asked Leandro.

"Oh my God!" cried Dusk. "She's actually considering it. That's why she's been so coy about the whole issue."

"No, I'm not -- Hey, would it be so bad if I did go through with it?" asked Alondra. "At least this way I would be alive to see my niece grow up. Maybe see her graduate, get married, start pumping out grandkids..."

"Oh, I get it," said Dusk. "You're doing all this for Grace's sake."

"Well, of course," said Alondra.

"In that case, I should tell you something that will make your decision a lot more simpler," said Dusk. "If you decide to take Persephone's offer and become a vampire, Leandro and I will see to it that you never see Grace again."

"Wait," said Alondra. "You can't do that."

"Yes, we can," said Leandro. "Grace is our daughter, not yours. And even if she were yours, it would not be in her best interest to be exposed to a vampire."

"But I'd be a good vampire," said Alondra.

"Sure you say that now," said Dusk. "But will you say the same thing when you rise from the grave? You've staked enough new-born vampires to know the answer to that question."

"But this is different," said Alondra.

"Sorry, sis," said Dusk. "But you can't have it both ways. You can't turn vampire and still expect to be welcome in this household."

"But I'm dying," said Alondra.

"We're all dying," said Dusk. "You're just a bit ahead of us. Now please leave our house. I don't want to look at you right now."

To be continued...

Cuento de Mi Id

“The Appointment”

Amanda called Victor Friday night and asked if he could take her to the hospital Monday morning. Victor asked her which hospital and then Amanda explained that it was a certain hospital in North Dallas, a hospital whose name Victor recognized because it usually had a lot of protesters out in front.

Amanda called Victor again Sunday night to remind him and to let him know that she would be staying in a hotel. Her boyfriend was supposed to meet her there but he had gotten busy with his meetings and he couldn’t make it. So now Victor had to take her for sure.

Next morning, he arrived at her hotel five minutes early but she wasn’t downstairs yet. He drove around a bit until he finally saw her outside.

He pulled up in front of her and opened the passenger side door. She got in, gave him a brief hug and then started checking the messages on her cell phone.

He got her there about ten minutes late but it didn’t matter because the hospital had told her that she had about thirty minutes leeway. It was so cold a morning that only two protesters had bothered to show up. Neither of them were located anywhere near the front door of the hospital which, ironically enough, faced away from the street. Amanda initially bristled at the thought of confronting the protesters but a moment later she was feeling sorry for them. She told Victor that she really couldn’t afford another child and Victor stayed silent. He agreed once more to stay in the waiting room while she was undergoing the procedure and to drive her back to the hotel when she was finished and he even agreed to sign a piece of paperwork to that effect.

When they went in, the waiting room was playing a DVD of “Footloose” on a flat screen TV. Under the circumstances, it seemed surreal but then Victor found it difficult to think of any movie that could have been showing right then that would not seem surreal.

When they called Amanda’s name, she left behind her purse and jacket but then she came back to retrieve her cell phone. She talked to it more than she talked to Victor and she said nothing about her current child who undoubtedly was spending this week with her ex.

Victor sat in the waiting room and pretended to enjoy the movie. He was surprised at the end to realize that the sharp-faced girl who played Lori Singer’s friend was actually played by Sarah Jessica Parker, an actress he should have recognized but didn‘t. The things you find out, he thought.

The waiting room -- which was nearly empty when they came in -- started to fill up with people, most of them women. Amanda eventually came out clutching a handful of prescription slips and asked him to take her to the nearest pharmacy. He did so, taking care to ignore the protesters as he drove past them on his way to the street.

On the way to the pharmacy, Amanda explained that she had not really wanted to have the procedure that she had just had but she really couldn’t afford to raise another child and her boyfriend especially did not want her to have a child at this time. Perhaps a few years in the future when they were more established they might have one but not now.

Victor said nothing. Victor always said nothing. He listened to her prattle on about how much her new boyfriend loved her and how much money he spent on her and how he wanted to have been here in Victor’s place but he just couldn’t make it back to Dallas in time.

This is just between us, she kept saying to Victor. No one else can know except for you, me and my boyfriend. Especially my ex. You can’t ever tell my ex. Or my former room mate. Not ever.

Victor promised he would keep her secret and then dropped her off at her hotel. As she got out of his car, three words came to mind but he swallowed them hurriedly and only said them when she was already inside the hotel entrance and out of earshot.

Then he drove away hurriedly. And promised himself the stiffest drink he could afford.

Fanfic Friday

“The Huntress at Sunset”

A continuation from last week's chapter.

Chapter Two

When Alondra walked into the house, she noticed that almost nothing had changed. Everything was clean and dust-free.

"I have a girl come in twice a week to clean," said Persephone. "She does a pretty good job as far as I can tell."

"Where did you get the money, Persephone?" asked Alondra.

Persephone smiled without showing her fangs. "Investments."

Then Persephone said, "Now it's my turn to ask you a question, Huntress. Why are you here?"

"I told you," said Alondra. "To visit my parents' house."

"No," said Persephone. "Why are you really here?"

"Because I was feeling nostalgic," said Alondra.

"And why were you feeling nostalgic, Huntress?" asked Persephone.

"No reason," said Alondra.

"There's always a reason for the things you do, Alondra," said Persephone. "What is it?"

"It's personal," said Alondra.

"A death in the family, perhaps?" asked Persephone.

"No, of course not," said Alondra quite hastily.

"Your sister ill?" asked Persephone.

"No, she's well," replied Alondra.

"Your niece Grace?" asked Persephone.

"No, she's fine," said Alondra. "Everyone in my family is fine. And all my friends are fine too."

"But you aren't," said Persephone. It wasn't a question.

"I don't know what you mean," said Alondra.

"You don't think that I -- of all people -- can recognize the scent of death when I smell it?" asked Persephone.

"You must be mistaken," said Alondra.

"I'm quite sure I'm not," said Persephone. "How long did the doctors give you? One year? Two? Three?"

"A year," replied Alondra.

"And you think I can cure you?" asked Persephone.

"Can you?" asked Alondra with a desperate tone in her voice.

"No, of course not," said Persephone. "But I can give you what you came for."

"No, that's not necessary," said Alondra. "I didn't come for that anyway."

"Don't give me that, Huntress," said Persephone. "We both know why you came here and we both know what you want."

"But I'm not ready right now," said Alondra. "I just know that I don't want to die."

"None of us do," said Persephone. "And yet we do anyway. Even I will die again some day. But that day of course will be a long way off in the future."

"Will it -- will it hurt?" asked Alondra.

"A little," said Persephone. "But in the end it will be like going to sleep. You'll feel like a new person when you finally wake up."

"That's what I'm afraid of," said Alondra.

"You?" asked Persephone. "Afraid? Perish the thought, Huntress. You are never afraid."

"I kinda wish you'd stop telling me how I feel, Persephone," said Alondra. "I realize now that coming here was a mistake. You're never going to say yes and I'm not sure I'm ready to become like you anyway."

"Who said I was never going to say yes?" asked Persephone. "Are you putting words into my mouth, Huntress?"

"No," said Alondra. "But you just said --"

"I say a lot of things, Huntress," said Persephone. "Not all of them are true. Anyway, you're dying and I'm immortal. I can help you become immortal as well but I'd advise you to think about it first. Go home, talk it over with your family and your friends, and if you still want to cross over and become like me, then come back here in a month and I'll turn you."

"Why a month?" asked Alondra. "Why not now?"

"You're not ready now," said Persephone. "And even if you were ready, it would only be fair to let you become prepared for the way things will change in your life once you become like me."

"Prepared?" asked Alondra.

"Yes, prepared," said Persephone. "I was drafted into this life. You are choosing to enlist voluntarily. Not everyone in your life right now will like that. Also you used to kill my kind for a living. That means that you cannot expect to be Miss Popularity once you cross over because there are many of my kind who will kill you on sight. Am I making myself clear, Huntress?"

"Crystal," said Alondra.

"Good," said Persephone. "Then this conversation is over. For now, at least. I expect to see you back here in a month, regardless of whether your answer is yes or whether your answer is no. If not, I'll come find you and I am very good at tracking down people, Huntress."

"No need to threaten me, Persephone," said Alondra. "I get your point."

"Do you?" asked Persephone. "Very well. Come back to me in a month and tell me how open-minded your friends and family are about your decision. I suspect you'll find quite a few surprises once you start talking to them about it. After all, not everyone in this world is as open-minded as myself."

"Whatever," said Alondra.

And with that, she left.

To be continued...

Cuento de Mi Id

“The Girls of Winter”

It was half past twelve when the next girl came on stage, which proves that not all scary things happen at midnight. She was a skinny young thing, most likely jailbait, and it hardly seemed worth it for her to take her top off. She staggered about the stage for a while, waving her arms up and down as if they were drumsticks. I could clearly see her ribs beneath her skin and I almost felt sorry for her.

She was promptly booed off the stage -- no doubt as an act of mercy, I thought. She then grabbed her top and scurried off to the back room.

The next dancer was of more conventional proportions but she wore too much blue eye shadow. I quickly lost interest and returned to my drink. The club closed at two and I wasn't looking forward to navigating my way home with a hundred other drunks. However, it was fifteen below outside and I was in no hurry to brave the winter traffic. I came from Chicago myself so snow and ice don't scare me, but trying to dodge fifteen other drivers while trying to avoid a fishtail tends to take all the fun out of winter driving.

In fact, I almost totaled my car making it this far. Some wiseguy in a pickup truck was too stupid to drive at normal speed and made me put on the brakes when he cut in front of me on the highway. When you're driving on ice, that's the last thing you want to do. I managed to get out of it okay -- I always do -- but I must admit that I was really shook up there for a while.

Yeah, a long while.

The next dancer came on stage as I finished my beer. She was a black girl and she reminded me of a girl at the last club I was at. Very friendly that one had been. In fact, she even offered me drinks. Then she started putting her hand on my thigh and I realized that drinks were not the only thing she sold.

Outside, that old north wind must have been howling like a banshee. Perhaps if I put enough antifreeze in my system, I could make it as far as the parking lot, I thought as I ordered yet another beer. The waitress took her time bringing it as if she were being paid to bring it extra slow and I mentally subtracted a large portion of her tip while I was waiting.

In the meantime, I kept looking up at the stage and trying to not act bored but it was hard. After all, there was nothing in the club I couldn't see in a Playboy. And you're not allowed to touch the girls here, either. You're just allowed to get close enough to drop a bill in the old G-string and that's it. How dull.

The next girl on stage appeared to have needle marks on her arms. At least, I thought they were needle marks. Didn't make sense to me. I would have figured that most girls in her profession would be into skinpopping. If this was Canada, I could find out for sure, but they don't allow such places down here in the Bible Belt. Not at normal prices, anyway.

My beer finally arrived but for some reason, it tasted funny. I called the waitress over to order something in its place.

“Want any change?” the waitress asked me.

“What for?”

She gestured at the dancers.

“No, of course not.”

The waitress shrugged and went to fetch me my drink. It didn't taste much better than the last one. I began to think that I had been in the club too long.

I looked around again and saw that the club owners were out in force. Dressed in suits, they looked like members of the local country club but as they clapped along with the music, trying to drum up enthusiasm, they somehow reminded me of guest extras on Miami Vice and I was almost tempted to look for shoulder holsters.

My next drink tasted like it had a dead animal in it and I decided that was it. Time to go.

I threw a twenty down on the table and made my way to the door.

I looked back long enough to see that the girl on stage was now showing off her wrist scars and then I headed out to the parking lot.

The club was supposed to have valet parking but it seemed to be mostly reserved for the suits and the owners of late-model cars. I was neither, of course, and anyway, no one was on duty. So I made my way across the wind-swept parking lot by myself.

That's when I noticed that the parking lot was almost empty apart for a few scattered vehicles -- which was really unusual considered how crowded it had been inside the club. Where the hell did everybody park anyway? Surely they did not all arrive in those few cars like they were circus clowns or something? Or did the creeps who owned the club sell out to a chop shop?

I was thinking about going back inside when I suddenly saw a familiar vehicle. My old red Chevy was parked at the far left corner of the lot. As I walked closer toward it, I could see that it was not in great shape. In fact, it had a couple of dents in it that had not been there this morning. A couple of big dents in it. In fact, the whole left side of the car was caved in.

And that mess on the ice. It looked like blood. At least, some of it did. And the rest of it looked like...

Suddenly I was back on the highway. I was going 35 and my engine was starting to stall. The guy ahead of me was going 15, then dropped down to 0. I slammed on my brakes to avoid hitting him, but a pickup got in front of me and in trying to avoid him, I found myself fishtailing on the highway. My brakes locked, the oil light came on, and I found myself heading toward the rear end of the same pickup that cut in front of me.

Then I blinked.

And found myself back in a mostly empty parking lot. The same lot I had been in before. I hurried back inside and didn't think twice when the girl at the door demanded another five bucks to enter the club. Instead I gladly paid it.

I went to the men's room to check myself out in the mirror but saw nothing wrong. But then I had seen nothing wrong before.

Then I went back out on the floor and picked myself an empty table to sit at. One that was near the stage. I ignored the other customers which was just as well since even in the half light of the club, they didn't look so good. But I wasn't paying to look at them so I didn't. Instead I stared ahead at the girls on stage until a waitress came up to me to take my order. This time I noticed a scar on her chest that was not quite covered by her uniform, but I said nothing about it. Instead I just ordered a beer.

No, I ordered three beers.

Then I turned to watch the dancer on stage try to pretend that she was not totally out of it. I didn't care if she was or if she wasn't. I was here to forget and that was what I intended to do.

In fact, it's almost one thirty and I'm still here. The drinks are starting to take effect now and I no longer notice the bad taste of the beers. I don't notice much of anything, in fact, except for the girls on stage. And I stopped trying to tell them apart a long time ago.

My wallet doesn't seem to be empty, and I could probably stay here all night if the club owners would let me. But I doubt they will. In fact, it seems like the club is going to end up closing soon.

That worries me. For as much as I try to pretend otherwise, I can't help wondering what will happen to me If I try to stay here past closing time. Or if there will even be a me here past closing time.

And yet I really do not want to go outside again. I really don't.

Fanfic Friday

“The Huntress at Sunset”

Part One of an experiment. If the characters seem familiar despite the different names, well, there's a reason for that...

Chapter One

Her name was Alondra Verano and she was standing on the porch of her childhood home. She had for a long time lived in another house in another city but that house had been destroyed. But there was still her childhood house -- the house that she had lived in until her parents got divorced.

And it was still intact too. Though the curtains were closed, there were no bars on the windows, no signs of broken glass, no sign whatsoever that the house had even been touched since she moved away. Considering how much the neighborhood had changed since she had left, that was really saying something.

And yet Alondra felt like a stranger. Her family no longer owned this house and though Alondra had no idea who owned the house now, she somehow knew that she would not be welcomed were she try to force her way into the house right then.

So Alondra just sat down on the porch and looked out at the sunset.

Sunset, she thought. She had been out later than she thought. She really ought to be on patro -- No, wait, she was retired now and there were many women far younger than her who were taking her place on patrol.

She thought about what she had learned at the doctor's office that afternoon and how she had suddenly felt the need to come here -- of all places -- before she went home and talked to her sister and her husband.

They'll probably ask me to babysit again, she thought, and then I'll get to be the cool aunt who tells her young niece all about her various adventures as a young girl. And yet -- as much as she loved her niece and wished to see her -- Alondra could not get herself to move off the porch.

Then the sun went completely down and the darkness grew. The outside lights came on as if on an automatic timer. Alondra started to think quite seriously about standing up and leaving.

Then the front door that was behind her opened and a familiar voice said, "Why, Huntress. What a pleasant surprise!"

Alondra turned, reached in her pocket for a stake and saw... a tall dark-haired woman dressed in black.

"Persephone," said Alondra, "what are you doing here?"

"I live here now," said Persephone. "In fact, I own the place. I was tired of constantly moving so I finally decided to settle down."

"But this is my father's house," said Alondra. "At least it used to be."

"Yes, I know," said Persephone. "Would you like to come inside?"

"Wait," said Alondra. "You're treating me... as a guest... in my family's own house?"

"It is no longer your family's house and we are no longer enemies," said Persephone, "unless, of course, you want to be."

"No, I don't," said Alondra, feeling funny as she said the words for some strange reason.

"Very well then," said Persephone with a sly smile. "Please enter freely and of your own free will."

To be continued...

Cuento de Mi Id

“The Curse”

"Damn Mexican!" he said as the dark-skinned lady ahead of him pulled out yet another roll of coupons.

"Damn Mexican!" he said as yet another dark-skinned lady almost ran into him with her shopping cart.

"Damn Mexican!" he said as a dark-skinned guy in a pickup truck almost ran him over in the parking lot.

"Damn Mexican!" he thought as he glared at the face that looked back at him from the depths of his rear-view mirror.

Fanfic Friday

“When Kennedy Met Kennedy”

(An edited version of a chapter I wrote for a story on another site.)

"Hi, Buffy," said the latest arrival, a woman who looked remarkably like Willow's girlfriend Kennedy. "What are you doing here? And why do you look like that?"

"I got hit by a curse," said Buffy. "How did you get here, Kennedy?"

The newcomer replied, "Actually, I got this mysterious invitation as well as a special spell that was supposed to -- Hey, that's me!"

The newest arrival pointed to the Kennedy who was already in the room.

Kennedy, in turn, looked at the new arrival and said, "Oh my God! It's my Alternative Universe self!"

"Actually you're my Alternative Universe Self," said the new arrival.

"Whatever," said the original Kennedy. "So are you a vampire too?"

"What do you mean, 'am I a vampire too'?" asked new Kennedy.

"Well, my girlfriend Willow has a vampiric self and Buffy there has a vampiric self," said Kennedy. "So I just figured..."

"No, I'm not," said new Kennedy. "I'm human."

"Oh," said original Kennedy.

"What do you mean 'oh'?" asked new Kennedy.

"I meant 'okay'!" exclaimed original Kennedy.

"Well, you don't have to sound so disappointed about it," said new Kennedy.

"I'm not," said original Kennedy. "It's just that it would have been so cool if I had something more in common with Willow and Buffy."

"I see," said new Kennedy, fumbling in her pockets for something.

"Not that being human isn't cool too," said original Kennedy.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," said new Kennedy sarcastically.

"No, really," said original Kennedy. "Some of my best friends are human. It's just that things have been so weird tonight..."

"I see," said new Kennedy, still looking for something in her pockets.

Then new Kennedy paused, listened to original Kennedy chatter on about something, then pulled out something out of her pocket and looked at original Kennedy again.

Then new Kennedy thrust a stake at original Kennedy's heart, only to be stopped at the last minute when Buffy grabbed her arm and forced her to drop it.

"Wait a minute!" exclaimed original Kennedy. "You were going to stake me?"

"Of course she was going to stake you," said Buffy.

"But why?" asked original Kennedy.

"Because you're a vampire, stupid," said new Kennedy, still struggling to escape Buffy's grasp.

"You thought I was a vampire?" asked original Kennedy. "Cool!"