OV: The Original Vampire (Book #1) (11 page)

“Dad?”
Josie talked slow. “We need to know what happened to you.” Bud shook, but focused on her. “We talked to your friend Van Norden.” Bud shook more, the tears went from black to pink again, because he was producing new saline from crying.

“Man Bad. Bad!” Bud barked then laughed. He scratched his face, as a scab broke off and left a reddish hole. Josie tried not to break down. She clutched the rock she and Vinnie had used to slice her neck. It had meaning to her because they were really open to each other that night.

As she leaned forward, she asked, “Is Van Norden a liar, Dad?”

“
Mef. Off. Evo.” Bud said.

“He’s evil Dad?” Josie raised her voice.

“Yop. Narc!”

“Did a man kill you at Lake
Cresent?” She asked.

“Nord.
Nord did.” Bud puked.

“Oh my God, Vinnie,” Josie turned to him. “Van
Norden is sick, he’s really sick.” She turned back to Bud.

“I love you Dad.” She shouted over the others’ puking, laughing and crying.

Bud’s voice smoothed out, “I love you.” He sneezed.

Josie leaned closer, “What Dad?”

“I. mmm.”

“Did you hear that, Vinnie? He said that clearly, not the first time, the second time.”

“Yeah, I did.”

She tried again, “Dad, I am so sorry. I forgive you.”

“I’m sorry too.” He said fluently. His eyes were bright blue, like a child’s.

“But, you were never there for me.” She said.

“Blah. Blah. Blah!” He laughed and puked.

“This is bizarre.” She whispered at Vinnie. “He reacts to the words, watch.” She grabbed his cold, gray hands, “I love you so much Dad.”

“I love you too, so much.” He smiled with three missing teeth.

“Let’s be a real family again.” She smiled.

“That would be great, Josie!” He laughed and cried. The tears were almost clear now.

“He’s turning warm. I can feel it in his hands.” She said to Vinnie.

“That’s amazing, crazy shit, but amazing.” He said.

Josie turned to her father again, “Dad, your drinking really hurts me.”

“Blah.
Haha. Niop!” He shouted.

“Unbelievable.” She said to Vinnie. “I think there’s a way to get him out of here.” She said. “I got it!”

Suddenly, there was a loud branch cracking sound. Josie and Vinnie were instantly transported back into their bodies. Josie opened her eyes to see a flashlight beam cross her body and onto Vinnie’s. They sat up with a flashlight in their face. Vinnie stared into the beam and saw an old man behind it. “Put that light down now.” Vinnie said.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I’m always alone out here, especially at night.” He said, as he pointed the flashlight down.

“Who are you?” Josie asked.

“Bernie. 76. Retired. Can’t sleep at night, so I come say hi to the old growth. Not me, Douglas Fir Old Growth!” He chuckled.

“So, you like trees Bernie?” Josie smiled, but it was dark so no one could see.

“Yes, very much, unfortunately I have cut a few down in my day.”

“Were you a Logger Bernie?” asked Vinnie.

“Yes Sir, started in 52’. They were a lot bigger then, but so was everything! Bernie laughed.

“It seems you have a special relationship with the trees Bernie, what happened?” Josie asked.

Bernie whistled while he came up with an answer. “I just saw so much change in such a short period of time. I knew that we would lose most of our forest, and our Oxygen, if we kept going. And, some of those trees are a thousand years old. It’s hard to justify any of it, but then again, I had a family to feed.” He said.

Vinnie jumped in, “Yeah, we still see a lot of logs coming out of here on logging trucks and
its gotta stop.”

“I don’t blame you for thinking that way. It’s been going on since 1880. I’m not exactly a happy camper about it, that’s why I’m here now. I feel a lot of peace here. These trees speak to me. They do something that’s indescribable.” Bernie said.

“They do that for us too, Bernie.” Josie started to warm up.

“I’ve heard of those tree
huggers, and the ones who climb to the tops of trees so they can’t cut them down. Hell, just on the news the other day, two young men jumped in front of a logging truck. Their remains were flatter than pancakes in some spots.” Bernie said, as he cleared his throat. “I need some water, hold on.”

“As I was saying, logging has to stop. It should have stopped in the Seventies, now I’m afraid it’s too late. What are you guys going to do about it, anything?” He asked.

“Not a lot.” Vinnie said. “We want to stop it also, but we need a good angle to attack it.” Vinnie said, without revealing too much.

“Well Hell.” Bernie squatted down, grabbed a stick and tapped the ground with it. “I know something you don’t.” Bernie said. Vinnie and Josie smiled at the old man’s tactful words.

“There’s going to be a big haul soon.” Bernie spoke softly. “They’re going to take down a whole mountain’s worth, and I know when and where.” Bernie snickered.

“No way.”
Josie said.

“When?”
Vinnie leaned closer.

“Now, now wait a minute. How do I know you’re not the Fuzz?” Bernie showed his teeth.

“We wouldn’t be lying on the ground in the middle of nowhere if we were.” Josie said. “Besides, there’s no doughnut shop up here.” They all laughed.

“Okay, alri
ght. It’s happening in two days, at mile marker 28. Dirt road goes up the mountain about 6 miles. From there, you’ll see the excavators. It’s a big operation, so they’ll have at least one security guard on watch.” He said.

“Sounds good.”
Vinnie said.

“Okay well, I’ll let you kids be. I have a long walk ahead.”

“See you Bernie, and thanks.” Josie gave a wave, as Bernie’s flashlight beam bounced away and disappeared into the night.

Josie and Vinnie lied back down and watched the stars.

“That girl at the wreck, she had something.” Josie said.

“What do you mean?”

“There was a certain humbleness in her eyes, like she had been manipulated by men, like me.”

“How can you tell?” Vinnie asked.

“The eyes look sad, but they smile at an instant, to feel acceptance or to please someone.”

“So, there are lots of types of people, those who hurt others, those who hurt, and those who help the hurt.” Vinnie said.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s more than your three, very general categories. It’s a deep vibration that runs through humanity, every action there’s a reaction, and what we feel and do in this world is felt a million different ways.

“Remember that experiment the Behavioral Scientists did with water?” Josie asked.

Vinnie shook his head.

“When someone acted angry around a water drop, the scientists looked at it under a microscope. The water had jagged lines, almost like broken glass. But, when the experimenters spoke loving words around the water drops, and looked under the microscope, the water drops were smooth. This happens in all of nature.” She said.

“So, this girl is what kind of water drop?”

“She’s a hundred pounds of water, and a million feelings.”

“So you can relate to her water?”

“Yes, I can!” Josie yelled.

“Do you want to go back under?” Vinnie asked.

“Yes, I do!” Josie yelled again.

They closed their eyes. Lights danced on their eyelids, as Josie rode the pixels, like a rollercoaster deep into her subconscious. She was determined to find that girl at the wreck.

Looking through the last ten years of memories, she found a girl that was at the annual carnival in Forks. The girl was with two guys, her hair was blue, she had on thick eyeliner, and two metal hooks stuck out of her bottom lip. She was wasted. Josie worked at a food cart, grilling onions and hotdogs, when the girl stepped up to order. The two guys held her up, as she ordered.

“How can I help you?” Josie asked.

“I’m in a dilemma. They both want me.” She pointed to the guys who held her up, “But, I want pussy.” She laughed, as one of the guys pinched her nipple.

“Fuck off, Tony!” She smiled wryly.

“Uh, would you like to order something?” Josie asked.

“
Yesss, I would. Besides you, I want a juicy cheese steak sandwich.” The girl slurred.

“Um, we don’t have cheesesteak. We have hotdogs and hamburgers.” Josie said curtly.

“Beef is beef, baby. Do you want a baby? I don’t. Men leave their seed all over the place. Fuck that. Give me something smooth and sweet, like pussy meat.” The girl laughed, while the two guys held her up.

Josie was strangely enthralled by the girl’s belligerent, fuck-the-world attitude and began testing her. She was bored at work anyways and thought it would be entertaining.

“So, no hotdogs for you?” Josie asked, holding her hands up like a New Yorker.

“Oh no, hotdogs are pork, and pig is a cop.” The
drunk girl laughed, as her head tilted almost to her back.

“What about a burger?” Josie tested.

“Ground Beef is all cut up and shit. Give me a ribeye and some GlenLevit, and a clove cigarette and some Tom Waits.” The girl’s voice grew soft. Then, she mouthed the words so no one could hear: Let’s Fuck.

Josie sucked on her bottom lip for a second, before mouthing: Okay.

Their eyes stayed locked until the guys pulled her away, obviously bored with the conversation. Later that night, Josie was cleaning up. She was cleaning the grill by scrubbing it with a porous cleaning brick. She pushed the brick back and forth. The grill was still hot and splashed her with hot grease. Little white blisters formed on her forearm. The heat of the grill made her sweat, as the beads dripped down her forehead and under her t-shirt.

She was mad that she had burnt herself and pushed hard on the grill brick. The brick slid out from under her hands, as her hands fell onto the hot grill. She screamed, kicked the door on the refrigerator, and got a bag of ice to put on her hands. She stood there and cried, until she felt two hands gently hold her from behind.

She turned around and saw the drunk girl. The drunk girl wasn’t drunk anymore, but maybe on psychedelics. Her pupils were solid black, and she seemed alert and curious about Josie’s features. Josie lowered her head and became shy, which normally didn’t happen.

“What’s your name anyways?” Josie laughed nervously, as the girl
flitted her fingers under Josie’s shirt, tickling her nipples with her fingertips until they were hard.

“
Mezrolly.” She said, as she leaned in and licked the sweat off Josie’s neck. Josie became silent prey, as Mezrolly led her to the little bathroom.

“I don’t know.” Josie said as she momentarily held onto the towel rack, before being pulled into the bathroom. The carnival was closed now as only their breathing was heard in the trailer.

“It’s okay. I’ll take care of you like no one has.” Mezrolly said, as she knelt before Josie and looked up at her, like she was praying to a divine. Mezrolly slowly closed her eyes, as she breathed in Josie’s scent. “That’s gonna drive me wild.” She said.

“What?” Josie asked, as she came out of a trance.

“Your caramel and watermelon scent. I can smell no cock on you at all. It’s perfect.” She smiled up at Josie, like a newly converted worshipper. “It’s like two little rose petals.”
Mezrolly said, as her head disappeared under Josie’s apron.

“Oh, Jesus!”
Josie clutched the edge of the sink with her hands behind her back. Her legs trembled, as she feared dropping onto the dirty floor.

“It’s okay baby. I won’t let you fall. If you do, it will be into my arms.”
Mezrolly worked on Josie, determined to break some kind of barrier or milestone.

Josie shook until she collapsed into
Mezrolly’s arms, as they fell backwards and laughed on the dirty floor. There was no worry about anything. It was a hot summer, as Josie still sparked a certain spirit of her youth, and her resilience to life’s curveballs were unlimited at this point.

When they got off the floor,
Mezrolly became preoccupied. “Shit, I gotta run baby. I will see you somewhere, forever is our fate. And, by the way, you tasted incredibly delicious!” Mezrolly walked out the back door, as Josie felt the wetness Mezrolly left, as she went back to close the kitchen and go home.

Josie awoke whimpering. Good memories were always the hardest to wake up from. She looked around to see if Vinnie was safe, then she closed her eyes. She wanted badly to go back under and find
Mezrolly.

The night was silent. She quickly looked over towards the sound of a pine needle dropping. She listened to her heartbeat and concentrated on the blank movie screen on her eyelids. Before every deep daydream Josie experienced, there were flashes of the most intense memories; the first memory was being accidentally let go of in the bathtub and temporarily drowning; and one of the last memories was seeing Bud hit her mother. These were more like visions of the past and Josie felt she had the power to manipulate the past, tweak it towards the positive, even if it was labeled as delusional.