Midnight Sun, page 7
part #1 of Mortal Heat Series
Mick knew more than he was telling, I knew that much for sure. He said he grew up with Todd, so maybe he knew what cult Todd was in. I didn’t have any other solid leads, so this was my only angle to work. I thought for a minute, then pulled out my phone and sent a quick text.
Lucy: Hey Mick, I’m sorry about earlier. I’m just worried about Em. Do you think you could come over later? I don’t want to leave her alone tonight, but I’d like to bounce some ideas off of you.
He replied almost instantly.
Mick: Sure. How about two hours? Also, I’ll need your address.
Lucy: What, you didn’t grant yourself GPS access when you had my phone?
Mick: Contrary to popular belief, I’m not that presumptuous.
I giggled despite myself and sent him my address. Now, time to set my plan in motion.
SNEAKY REPORTER TRICKS
AFTER DINNER I convinced Em to go to bed and rest up. She was glowing after speaking with Todd, although the conversation seemed to have worn her out. She gladly took my suggestion and went right to sleep.
I bustled around our condo, arranging everything before Mick arrived. We had a shotgun for protection, gifted to us by my over-protective dad. I made sure it was easily accessible in our broom closet–not that I thought Mick would attack me, but I wanted to be prepared.
I set up Em’s laptop on one side of the room and mine on the other, ensuring that our cameras covered the entire space. The tiny recording lights glowed a dull red, even though the screens were dark. We had a few little spy devices we pooled our money for when we graduated college, convinced we would become big-time investigative reporters. We played with them once or twice but they had mainly been gathering dust ever since. I hid one microphone in the lamp by the couch and another under my button-down shirt, then made sure all the devices were streaming and sending clips in five-minute intervals to my email. Exactly when I expected him, there was a knock at the door.
When I opened it, Mick was on my doorstep, breathtaking as always. He smiled warmly, which immediately threw me off. I hesitated, distracted by his gorgeous face and his slightly uneven lips.
“Hi, Lucy... Are you going to invite me in?” He prompted.
“Oh, yes, sorry, hi Mick, thanks for coming. Please, come in.” I stepped out of the way and allowed him in. He paused just inside the doorway, glancing around the room.
“Nice place. Just you and Emily live here?”
“Yes, just us two. We’ve been roommates since college, it’s worked well for us so far. Please have a seat. Would you like something to drink? A beer maybe?”
“No, thank you,” he sat on the couch near the lamp with the hidden microphone, and I internally thanked him for being so cooperative. “So, tell me what you’ve been thinking.”
I sat on the couch as well, and I tried to keep my distance. I was struggling against the impulse to snuggle up to him like we’d been a few nights ago, but that would be disastrous for my plan. “Well, first, I’m sorry I was so angry earlier,” I began. “I am worried about Em, and I know you said you wanted to help but were limited in what you could say. It was a little frustrating, and I reacted poorly, so I’m sorry,” I repeated.
“Please, it’s okay. I understand, and in your shoes I’d be just as upset. It’s... frustrating for me, also, not just being able to tell you. I want to, which is unusual for me. Typically, I’m not interested in chatting, but I find myself wanting to tell you more than I should,” He confessed quietly. His eyes dropped to his hands, which he rubbed together nervously. “I will help as much as I can, I promise you that at least,” he glanced up suddenly, locking eyes with me. His green irises were brilliant, revealing the teal and blue striations that seemed to shimmer.
My heart rate rose, pulse pounding in my throat in a dramatic movement I imagined he could see in my neck. After a deep breath I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants and asked, “Is Todd a vampire?”
“A vampire? How did you... What do you know?” His tone changed from shock to denial to suspicion rapidly. Now we were getting somewhere.
“Come on, Mick, I thought you were trying to help. Surely you’re not betraying any trust if I guess correctly?” I delivered this line casually, as if this was common knowledge and I was almost bored with the entire process.
“I... I mean, I guess... but you didn’t answer my question: What do you know?”
“I know that Emily is pale, exhausted, and almost looks as if she’s suffering from blood loss. I know she’s been sleeping all day, avoiding the sun, and was up all night with Todd. I know she has dark marks on her neck that bleed. And I know you said you grew up with Todd and the rest of Mortal Heat, which means this isn’t the first time you’ve seen this.” I ticked off each item on my fingers as I listed them. “So, how about you just be straight with me: Todd is drinking her blood which is making her sick, and something he’s doing is making her act strange.” I was going for the kill now, he didn’t know what hit him.
Mick’s head dropped to his hands. “I don’t know how you figured this out. I still can’t tell you everything, but I will tell you you’re on the right path.”
“So, if he cares about her so much, why would he keep hurting her? This is obviously making her sick, he should stop.”
“He should,” Mick answered quietly, his voice muffled by his hands. “But I don’t think he can, and that is why it’s dangerous for your friend. He’s every bit as drawn to her as she is to him. The band had to force him to go home. They were hoping a few days away would clear his head, but he’s not showing any sign of slowing down. They’re all worried about him.”
“Him?! They’re worried about him? Who’s the one that’s getting exsanguinated here?” My voice climbed an octave in indignation.
“Exsanguinated? What does that even mean?” Mick looked up at me curiously.
“It means to die from blood loss.”
“Then why don’t you just say that?”
“Because exsanguinate is the proper word, okay?”
“No one uses that word.” His tone was aggravatingly matter-of-fact.
“I use that word. I’m a writer, I use words, it’s what I do.”
“Okay, well no one says that word.”
“Can we PLEASE get back to the topic at hand, here? How are we going to keep them apart?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I thought you had the ideas?”
“I have no idea how to manage a love-sick Emily. As long as I’ve known her she’s never even really cared about a guy, let alone allowing him to puncture her neck and withdraw her blood.” I shuddered just thinking about it. “I don’t know where to begin on that one.”
“How about we start with that beer you offered earlier? That sounds pretty good now.” He smiled sheepishly, and I was once again distracted. I was supposed to be grilling this guy for information, not fighting the urge to throw myself on his lap.
“Okay, I could use one too. Lager okay? It’s all I have.”
“Sure, lager is good.” He leaned back on the couch, removing his jacket.
I darted into the kitchen and grabbed two bottles from the fridge, returning seconds later to find him studying the bugged lamp. Shit!
“Here you go!” I said loudly, thrusting the bottle at him. He looked up at me, a casual smile stretched across his handsome face, and reached for the bottle.
“Thanks.” He twisted the top off and took a swig.
After a long pull from my own, I said, “The only idea I had was to convince Em that Todd is a ‘vampire’ who is drinking her blood. I know if I can get to her, really make her understand that fact, she will call it off.”
Mick choked on his beer, but refrained from spraying it on me. “I can’t help you expose him. You guessed, but me helping you tell someone else is not the same thing.”
I smiled sweetly. Little did he know, he was already helping me. I took another sip of my beer, glancing casually around the room. Wait a second... the recording lights were no longer glowing...how did the laptops get shut off? I only left the room for thirty seconds, tops, and he never left the couch. What the fuck?!
Swallowing so as not to give myself away, I turned back to Mick. “Well, what would you suggest I do, then?”
“I don’t know, Lucy. She’s your friend, and you’re a journalist. Maybe you can make up some story about him having a secret girlfriend and make it look legit, or any number of other things that would be enough to convince her he was bad news without going the other route?”
“I don’t know what would be more convincing than proving that he’s a vampire,” I said again, pointedly.
“Are you sure she would even believe that? It can be a lot for people to take in. Most don’t believe in... vampires.”
“Well, obviously there are the marks on her neck, and her own behavior, to convince her. I’m hoping that by Thursday evening she’ll be herself enough that I can tell her these things and she’ll be able to process them. Although I wish I had a video of her Saturday night, because she will not believe she behaved like that. I scarcely believe it, and I witnessed it.”
“Yeah, that might be a tough sell,” Mick mused, turning the bottle in his hands. “How else can you convince her?”
We battered some ideas around, and I tried at every turn to keep the word ‘vampire’ in the conversation. When I was confident I had enough material, I feigned exhaustion and convinced Mick to leave. Once I was sure he was gone I grabbed my laptop eagerly and delved into my email. There were dozens of clips sent from the various devices. As I clicked into each one, however, I noticed a disturbing pattern: I couldn’t hear a damned thing. The video clips just showed us lounging on the couch with no audio. The last one was all messed up, Mick appeared to dart around the room with super-human speed, and then the cameras shut off. The audio from the lamp didn’t appear to have worked, it just recorded static. The microphone under my shirt picked up my voice fairly well, but Mick’s was just an inaudible murmur.
There was no way any of this would convince Em to stay away from Todd, and now I had a new problem to add to my list: How the hell did Mick do that?
THE DISCOVERY
THE NEXT DAY I called in sick, telling Fred I caught whatever bug Em had. Todd would be here in one more day and I was still no closer to finding a solution. Em was deeply asleep, and I imagined she would be for a while. Whatever he had given her was putting her body through the wringer... I hoped the rest was helping her recover, but I knew if I let him get to her again she would be lost.
I texted Mick, trying to meet with him again, but he didn’t respond. Maybe his career as a stage manager left him with a nocturnal schedule too. I decided to try him again later.
Meanwhile, I did as much research as I could on local vampire cults, even on ones ranging as far as Louisiana. The cult idea made the most sense, but something still bothered me: What was making her behave so strangely? There was nothing that turned up in my research on drugs of any kind, and she was so ambivalent about the marks on her neck, it just didn’t make sense for her personality to shift that rapidly. There was more to it than I was finding in my research, and I was rapidly running out of time to figure it out.
Eventually I was frustrated enough to think going for a run sounded like a good idea. I wasn’t fast, but something about the monotonous rhythm of feet pounding pavement helped me think. My feet followed a familiar route through our neighborhood, chewing over the information I had and the mysteries they presented. Mick had been cooperative last night, confirming that my suspicions about Todd being in some sort of vampire cult were correct.
Well, he hadn’t confirmed that, just said I was on the right track. In fact, I didn’t recall mentioning the cult aspect at all. I just said ‘vampire’. Maybe that is what he meant about the right track: I brought up the vampires but I hadn’t gone into detail about the cult. If I could get him to tell me which cult it is, I might figure out the rest.
Also, how had Mick figured out I was recording last night, and how did he render my recordings useless?
There were more mysteries here than I could solve in a day, but I needed to focus on the important ones: What was Todd doing to Emily, and what could I do to stop it?
After my run I still hadn’t heard from Mick. I called Midnight Sun and confirmed they scheduled him to work tonight, then formulated my new plan: I’d approach him at work and try to get the rest of the details out of him. Maybe, if he was surprised and a little stressed, he might let something slip that I could use.
It was worth a shot.
***
I repeated the now-familiar process of checking on Emily, cooking her dinner, waiting for her to finish talking with Todd, then tucking her back in bed. Her complexion had improved; she was getting some color back in her cheeks and her eyes were bright. The marks on her neck had faded to a greenish-yellow hue. She was much more like her normal self, and this bothered me a little because she was still obsessed with Todd. I had hoped that the separation would bring back her health and her ambivalence towards men but that didn’t appear to be the case.
Once Em was safely asleep, I put my new plan into action. I paired another shimmery tank top Em picked out for me with moto jeans and my favorite leather jacket, for good luck. Most of the crazy rainbow-hued makeup was in Em’s room, but I painted on some eyeliner and mascara without making an absolute mess of myself. The overall effect was fairly good; in fact; I must have learned some skills from Em after all. I made a mental note to thank her after I succeeded in saving her from a vampire cult.
I locked the front door behind me and drove my tiny blue Toyota to Midnight Sun. It was still early, as far as bar time goes. A few patrons were milling around, but it was mostly empty. I asked the bartender for Mick and he pointed me towards the stage door, currently unmanned. I guess this band didn’t merit a security guard... or they just don’t start this early. Either way, I was free to pass through the door unobstructed into the purple hallway.
It hadn’t changed in the week since we’d been here. The soiled carpet, damaged walls, and bare purple bulbs were all the same. The only difference was the band name on the cardboard star to the green room. I bypassed that door, looking for something like an office that Mick would hang out in, but the only door in that hallway besides the green room was an exit to the street behind the club. I hesitated, wondering if I should knock on the band door or head back to the bar and ask the bartender for more specific directions.
While I was debating, the green room door opened and Mick emerged. His shoulder-length hair was loose again, tucked behind his ears. His uniform of dark clothes was in place, although in the odd purple light I couldn’t tell if it was all black or not. After closing the door he looked up and spotted me. The surprise on his face was genuine, and a brief smile almost convinced me he was happy to see me, but he quickly replaced it with a scowl.
“What are you doing here?” He hissed, grabbing my arm and dragging me forcefully to the rear exit. He pushed through the door and we descended a short flight of concrete steps, then turned a corner before he released me. It was quiet out here, in a dark alley no one used at night.
“Nice to see you again, too,” I grumbled, rubbing my arm. His grip had been so firm it cut off circulation to my hand, and the release caused a sudden rush of blood to flow down my limb.
“Look, Lucy, I’m sorry, but I’m working. I don’t have time to play amateur detective tonight, so what do you need?” He was looking away from me, hands in his pant pockets. When he glanced back at me his eyes were bright green, luminous, and vulnerable.
“Mick, I-” He moved so fast I didn’t know what happened at first. One minute he was a few feet away; The next his hands were cupping my face and his lips were on mine. Everywhere his skin touched mine I tingled, tiny electric shocks coursing through my body. He was warm, very warm, and his mouth was hot on mine, firm and insistent. My eyes closed, and I sighed, melting into the kiss and wrapping my arms around his neck. Kissing him I felt so alive. Now I understand why Em is so obsessed with Todd... wait... Em!
I pushed back from Mick, who eyed me hungrily. His hands dropped to my waist, and he leaned in to kiss me again.
“Wait, wait!” I panted. “I didn’t come here to make out in a dark alley, Mick! As fun as this is, I need to talk to you.”
He pulled back, eyes narrowing as he considered what I said. I watched the luminosity drain from his gaze, his irises becoming flat and cold. He backed away, arms crossed over his chest, and eyed me defensively. “Okay, talk.”
I fidgeted, pulling my hair back then sweeping it over one shoulder. Then I decided to be honest. “You knew I was recording you last night, didn’t you?” I asked softly.
His dark, cold green eyes watched me impassively. “Yes.”
“So you did intentionally sabotage my video. Why? And how?” My voice was louder now, strengthened by my annoyance.
He shrugged. “I told you, I will not help you tell someone else what you figured out. My goal was just to convince you to keep your friend away, not give away the secret.”
“But that’s just it!” I fired back, angry now. “I don’t know how to keep her away! The best weapon I have is telling her the truth, but she’ll never believe me if I don’t have some kind of evidence.”
