A Moonlit Night Saga: Episodes 1 - 4 (8 page)

“Bright red eyes?” the bartender asked, with
a puzzled look.

“Blood red pupils,” said Samuel, pointing to
his eyes. “The kind that will light up a room shrouded in
darkness—.”

“Hey, partner,” said a biker, tapping Samuel
on the shoulder. “Nice hat you got there. Mind if I give it a
try?”

The burly biker grabbed the Stetson from
Samuel’s head. He placed it upon his own head, and danced around
the room.

“Look at me, everybody!” shouted the biker,
as he pranced about the aisle’s, to a chorus of laughter. “I’m a
fancy cowboy! And did I mention…I fancy cowboys!”

Samuel slowly put his drink down, and lifted
himself up from his seat. He turned around, and stared down the
biker.

“You got something you want to say?” asked
the biker, staring back.

Samuel looked towards Steven, and smiled
devilishly, as if to say that he had everything under control.

Without warning, Samuel turned and struck the
biker in the face. He was sent crashing to the floor, as the
patrons at the bar went crazy.

“Fight!” screamed one of the meth addicts, as
they scrambled out of the way. “We’ve got a fight!”

Chapter Four

Samuel dodged one of his attackers, and sent
another back with a boot to the sternum. Three other men joined the
attack as they circled around him, waiting to make their
pounce.

He moved with grace and agility as he avoided
the blows, and countered with his own. A fist sent one flying
across the room, a kick sent another crashing out the front window,
and a vicious head butt sent the last tumbling to the ground.

“Who are you?” asked Steven, whispering under
his breath.

Samuel smirked, as the last of his aggressors
fell to the floor. He looked towards the others, and taunted, “Well
then, anyone else fancy themselves a cowboy?”

Many of them seemed to fancy themselves a
cowboy, as at least a dozen more bikers stood up, and begun walking
towards Samuel.

“C’mon guys,” said Samuel, backing away from
the group of angry bikers. “One at a time, please.”

They closed in on him, from every possible
angle. He looked around the room, figuring out his next course of
action.

Two of the bikers rushed Samuel, which he
sidestepped, allowing them to collide with each other. He used the
commotion to leap forward with a jab, sending another biker to the
floor.

Steven watched on, in amazement, as Samuel
made quick work out of the roughnecks. Then, in the corner of his
eye, he noticed one of the bikers grab a pool cue from the
rack.

“Hey!” shouted Steven, grabbing the biker by
the shoulder and spinning him around. “I don’t think so!”

He struck the biker in the face, fully
expecting him to fall to the floor; after all, Samuel made it look
so easy. The biker, instead, gave Steven a blank, expressionless
look.

“Oh, boy,” smirked the biker, wiping the
blood from his lip. “You’re on the wrong side of town, kid.”

The biker charged Steven, sending him
smashing into the wall. He pinned Steven against the wall, while he
pounded Steven repeatedly in the stomach. Steven tried to escape
the biker’s clutches, but couldn’t evade him as he wrapped his
hands around Steven’s neck.

“Ah, you big, dumb oaf!” shouted Steven,
barely managing to choke the words out as the biker’s hands closed
in around his esophagus.

Steven could feel his energy fade, as he
desperately tried claw his way free.

Suddenly, a beer bottled smashed against the
back of the biker’s head. His eyes rolled into the back of his
head, and he went down like a sack of potatoes.

Steven looked up, seeing Samuel smiled back
at him. The moment didn’t last long, as the rest of the bikers
closed in on the two of them.

Samuel moved with cat-like speed and ferocity
as he knocked the bikers down one by one. With each one he knocked
down, another would take his place. He was in over his head, and
knew there would be no end to this encounter without bloodshed.

Samuel continued to subdue his attackers,
when he heard a metallic click from behind him; a sound that was
unmistakable to the well trained Samuel.

“You think you’re real tough, don’t you?”
asked the bartender, brandishing a silver pistol. “Let’s see just
how tough you really are…”

Samuel slowly walked towards the bartender,
daring him to pull the trigger. He smiled, inching closer, and
said, “If you plan on shooting me, you better do it right now.”

The bartender paused for a moment. The sweat
beaded down his face as he contemplated the ramifications of firing
on the unarmed man.

“Too late,” said Samuel, reaching into his
duster, and before the bartender could react, used his concealed
blade to slice down on the gun.

The bartender stared back blankly at Samuel,
as he held the gun, which was now no more than a handle and
trigger.

The rest of the room was equally as
bewildered, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Samuel used this opportunity to fling back
his coat, revealing a small cache of weaponry. He pulled out a
large desert eagle, looked the bartender in the eyes, and said,
“Mine’s bigger.”

Grasping the pistol tightly, Samuel held the
rest of the bikers at bay. He knew they were all packing heat as
well, but figured, after his display of skill, that the rest of
them would be less than willing to be the next one to draw their
weapon.

“Get away from him!” shouted Samuel, pointing
his gun toward Steven. “Back up, nice and slow.”

The bikers dropped Steven, who they had
pinned up to the wall. He was beaten and bloodied, but still alive.
He coughed up some blood as he smacked against the cold concrete
floor.

“Here’s what’s going to happen,” said Samuel,
walking over to Steven. “I’m taking my friend out of here, and if
any of you tries to stop me, I’ll have the rest of my team come in
here and open fire.”

Samuel grabbed Steven by the shoulder, and
carried him past the rows of angry bikers. They all eyed him down
as he passed by, exiting through the front door.

“T—thank you,” stuttered Steven, unable to
raise his head as the blood poured down onto the gravel parking
lot. “There’s more…of you?”

“Not really, but don’t tell them that,” said
Samuel, looking back towards the bar. “Which one is your car?”

“The…red one,” choked Steven, reaching into
his pockets and grabbing his keys.

“Good,” said Samuel, taking the keys from
Steven. “I’ll drive.”

Chapter Five

Emily and Tyler were sitting in the living
room, when the door came swinging open.

“What happened?” asked Emily, rising to her
feet as Samuel carried in a battered Steven. “Oh my god, is he
okay?”

Tyler ran to Steven’s aid, and together, they
helped Steven to the couch.

“A bar fight,” said Samuel, taking off his
hat. “He’s pretty roughed up, but he’ll be okay. You just need to
give him some time.”

“E—Emily,” stuttered Steven, slowly raising
his head.

He could barely see out his left eye, and the
right was swollen shut; looking up to Emily, he said, “Red eyes…he
knows about the red eyes.”

With those words, Steven lowered his head,
and drifted out of consciousness.

Emily pulled back, in shock, and turned
towards the dark figure standing across from Steven.

“What does he mean? Just who the hell are
you?” injected Tyler, grabbing his bat from beside the couch.
“We’re going to need some answers.”

“Put the bat down, Tyler!” shouted Emily,
grabbing hold of the bat. “This man may very well have saved my
brother’s life…your best friend’s life.”

“I seem to have stumbled upon a touchy
subject,” said Samuel, holding out his hands in submission. “I
meant no harm, I promise you that.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just…we know about the
monsters, disguising themselves as humans behind those red eyes,”
said Emily, placing the bat in the corner of the room. “How do you
know about the red eyes?”

“Their kind is dangerous,” Samuel said. “I’m
here to make sure they don’t hurt anyone.”

“Now, if I may ask, how did you come to hear
about them?” Samuel asked.

“T—they attacked our house last week,”
stuttered Emily, remembering in vivid detail, the events of that
horrifying night.

“They attacked your house?” inquired Samuel,
his interest piqued. “How did you survive? Forgive my boldness, but
these particular monsters rarely leave their victims alive.”

“We…had help,” said Emily, thinking back to
the gallant vampire, Alexander Franson, whom had almost given his
life to rescue them. “A vampire saved our lives.”

“A vampire, you say?” Samuel asked, taken
aback. “…Just who are
you
?”

Emily paused for a moment, deciding it best
to conceal the true nature of the matter. Emily felt like she could
trust him, but had been burned once before, and was not about to
make that mistake again.

She sat down on the couch beside her brother,
and gently wiped the blood from his face. Emily looked back to
Samuel, and said, “I’m no one special. I saw something I wasn’t
supposed to, and it almost destroyed my entire family. If it wasn’t
for Xander’s help, none of us would be here right now.”

“Well I guess there’s always time for a
first,” Samuel said. “I’ve never heard of a vampire saving anyone,
out of the goodness of their heart.”

“Xander is different,” said Emily, still
unsure if she could trust the handsome vampire. “He has a heart,
I’ve seen it.”

“Well…sometimes our hearts can lead us to
terrible choices,” said Samuel, with a grim look on his face.

“I don’t understand,” Emily said. “What do
you mean?”

“You’ve heard the reports about the dead
bodies?” Samuel asked. “I believe that your vampire, Xander, is the
reason behind the attacks.”

Emily listened, in shock, as Samuel described
the manner in which the bodies had been displayed.

“You can’t possibly believe that he is
responsible for this?” Emily asked, rising to her feet in
protest.

“Vampires are a race led by passion and
emotion,” Samuel said. “If Xander had any reason to be upset, it is
possible that he could rip apart an entire village overnight.”

This caught Emily off guard, and for the
first time, believed that Samuel may have been telling her the
truth.

Xander had left under less than ideal
circumstances, and Emily tried her best to put the thoughts out of
her mind, but everything seemed to always to come back to her. She
had been the one to send Xander away, alone and angry. If people
were dead, most likely she was to blame.

“I know it may be hard to believe,” Samuel
said, pausing to collect his thoughts. “…But Xander is a cancer on
this small town, and needs to be put down.”

Samuel turned, and walked to the front
window. Looking out to the night sky, he asked, “Emily, could I be
so bold, as to ask you for a favor?”

Chapter Six

“Emily!” shouted Xander, banging on the front
door. “It is urgent, please open up!”

Xander continued to bang on the door, shaking
the very foundation of the house.

The door swung open, and Emily stepped
outside, visibly upset that Xander had returned.

“What do you want?” Emily asked. “I thought
that I made it clear. I don’t want you around anymore. I can’t
trust you.”

A tear streamed down Emily’s face as she
pushed Xander away. She had only met him a week ago, but already
she could feel herself yearning for him. That’s what scared her so
much; that she could possibly care for someone that had been
involved in her mother’s death.

“This is more important than any of that,”
said Xander, grabbing her by the hand. “We don’t have much time.
Trouble is coming, and it is coming fast. I can explain more when
we’re far away from here—.”

“Get your hands off me!” yelled Emily,
pulling herself away. “Are you trying to make up for killing my
mother? Is this only to alleviate some monster’s guilt?”

“I never killed your mother,” stated Xander,
looking around, and becoming more agitated by the minute. “I tried
to—.”

“So then you watched, while the rest of your
filthy kind devoured her?” Emily asked, interrupting her once
valiant hero. “How is that any better?”

“The situation is more complicated than you
could ever imagine,” said Xander, his eyes darting around the
forest nearby.

“So then explain it to me!” yelled Emily,
raising her hands in frustration. “I’m right here!”

“Your mother was a wonderful woman,” said
Xander, still searching the area for any signs of danger. “She was
over four thousand years old, and she’s spent over two thousand of
those years running, before you came along.”

“Four…thousand…years?” asked Emily, slowly
trying to wrap her head around that information. “She was in her
early forties when she left us; it’s not possible!”

“It is very possible,” Xander said. “And if
we leave, right now, I will explain everything.

“Not good enough,” stated Emily, crossing her
arms in defiance. “I’m not going anywhere, until you tell me
exactly what happened that night.”

Xander looked down, weighing over his
options. Deciding it was best not to steal her away in the night;
he looked at her, and said, “All right, I will tell you what you
wish to know.”

Chapter Seven

The vampire crushed the hood of the vehicle,
as he torn the windshield away from the car.

“Stay back!” warned Amanda, her hands
trembling in fear. “Come any closer and it will be the last thing
you do!”

The vampire snarled, as he attempted to leap
into the car.

A bright white stream of energy sent him
flying back into the blackness, as Amanda desperately tried to
crawl out the front of the car.

“C’mon, Jason, we don’t have much time!”
shouted Amanda, offering her husband a hand. “You have to
hurry!”