OV: The Original Vampire (Book #1) (17 page)

“You fucker!”
She hit his arm and splashed him in the face. He went under the water and pulled her legs down. She screamed before she submerged.

Below the water, she could see the red rock sides of the Punchbowl and the bottomless bottom. The water was pure and fresh. She looked at Vinnie. She wanted to cry, what a strange trip it’s been. Suddenly, he opened his mouth. Her eyes grew big, as he mouthed the words: YOU CAN BREATHE. She shook her hands, like fins of a little fish and mouthed back: WHAT?!

“You can breathe.” He pointed to her mouth. She freaked out and wanted to surface. She looked up at the light of the sun hitting the surface and started to push upwards, when Vinnie grabbed her: BREATHE, he mouthed with a beautiful smile. She felt like she was going to drown when finally she couldn’t hold her breath anymore and had to let go of fear and open her mouth.

No water rushed in. Her lungs didn’t fill up with water or air. She laughed. It was like being deaf in outer space. Only she heard herself, when she said, “What the fuck?” Vinnie laughed, as he came closer and rubbed her nipples under her floating shirt.

Vinnie grabbed her thighs and arched his waist until he entered the warmth of inside her, as they slowly sunk downwards. He pulled her ass into him repetitiously until the constant amorous friction made her shutter with the ultimate, long-deserved orgasm.

When they surfaced, Josie couldn’t break the constant eye contact she gave him, like an adoring fan fatal for a pop star. She smiled at him, like she was drugged.

“You’re beautiful.” She whispered, as Vinnie’s friends jumped off the cliff and did cannonballs next to them. They all swam and played until the moon rose over the Olympics, as they sat and watched.

The next morning, Josie awoke with her head on Vinnie’s chest. His friends were gone.

“Where are we?” She asked.

“We’re still here.”

“Are we in the Gateway?”

“No baby, we’re out.”

She hugged him tight, “I missed you so much.”

They walked the trail Josie had walked in different stages of her life; from innocent child at summer camp, to perplexed and angered adult. Vinnie had no idea how many thoughts she had experienced on the trail.

They walked for hours, remaining quiet to keep the sparks of seeing each other alive. After witnessing the silence of the lake, their minds quieted and walking became a Zen-like motion with little thought.

Up ahead on the trail, they heard a chainsaw. It angered them immediately, “How can they be cutting on a state reserve?” Josie asked.

“I don’t know. We’ll see what’s going on.”

They walked closer to the sound and noticed a giant tree had fallen over the trail. Its branches were hundreds of feet out in the water. There was a man hunched over with a chainsaw. Wood chips flew up behind his back as he cut, and blue exhaust coiled around his pant
legs.

“The nerve of this guy.”
Josie seethed.

As they got closer, the sound of the chainsaw was deafening. Vinnie came up and grabbed the chainsaw and threw it in the water. The sound of the chainsaw gurgled for a second and went silent, as the man twisted around to see Vinnie with viper eyes. The man was scared enough to water-down his reaction, “Why did you do that?” The man said, as he took off his cap and rubbed the sweat off his forehead.

“You’re a logger. You cut down old-growth and sell the wood to China. What’s left for us are ugly mud slides and gnarled tree stumps.” Vinnie flatly said.

“No sir, I’m a ranger with the National Forest Services and I clear the trail for folks like you. I don’t kill
trees, they fall down in wind storms and such.”

“You didn’t fall this tree?” Josie asked.

“No Ma’am. I love the trees as much as you do. In fact, logging was banned a few weeks ago. It was a big story in the news.”

Vinnie and Josie looked at each other. Vinnie’s eyes slowly turned back to normal eyes, as he brushed her cheek with his hand. “It’s over.” He said.

“Yep. It’s over.” The Ranger said. Everyone smiled.

“I’m sorry about your chainsaw. I’ll go get it.” Vinnie peeled off his shirt and ran down the trunk of the tree and pierced the crystal blue water.

“Doesn’t he know it’s cold?” The Ranger asked, half joking.

“He’s invincible.” Josie said.

Vinnie surfaced down a ways where there was a sandy area to walk on. He shook the water off the chainsaw, blew on the spark plug, and started it up. He pointed it up towards the sky and gunned it, then turned it off.

“Looks like it still
runs, take care of it now.” Vinnie said, as he placed his arm around Josie and they walked down the trail.

“So
long, and thank you.” The Ranger waved his cap.

“Logging is over? I don’t believe it.” Josie said, as they languidly walked, holding each other.

“We’ll believe it when we see it.” He said.

As they walked, it was approaching afternoon, as Josie became lethargic. She walked almost on automatic pilot, as her feet placed themselves one in front of the other. Her mind left the Present, as she could see both the trail and her memories in the Gateway.

Daira
faded in and walked besides them, “I love you, Josie.” She said.

“I love you too, oops.” Josie looked at Vinnie to see if he heard, but he didn’t.

“Where you guys going?” Daira asked like a little girl.

“Back to Port Angeles.”

“Why?”

“We have to talk to the Peninsula Daily about something.”

“Is it about Bud in Purgatory?”

“No, it’s about Logging.”

“Oh, sounds so ecological. Whatever rocks your World.” Daira said, as she tried to spit, but the spit slapped her chin.

“Still trying to act cool, huh?”
Teased Josie.

“Whatever. I am cool.”

Josie got serious, “So, do you know Mezrolly?”

“Maybe, who wants to know?”

“Stop being silly, Daira.”

Daira’s
voice matured and grew deeper within seconds, “Mezrolly is Bud’s.” She said pointblank.

Josie almost stopped walking, but she didn’t want to alarm Vinnie, “What!?”

“Bud had affairs, sorry to say, and Mezrolly was from one of them.”

“Great.”

“What?” asked Daira.

“
Mezrolly seduced me.

“When?”

“Years ago at a carnival.”

“You’ve been with another girl?”
Daira curled her nose.

“Never mind.
Where did Bud meet this woman, at a bar I suppose?”

“Of course, but she was considered to be a witch who lived deep in the fores
t of Forks. No one spoke to her except Bud, cause he was drunk of course.”

“How do you know all this?” Josie asked.

“Never mind.” Daira faded away.

Josie and Vinnie made it to the highway.

“He was right. I don’t see any logging trucks anymore.” Vinnie said.

“Thank God.” Josie stuck out her thumb, determined to make it to P.A. as fast as possible.

They were dropped off downtown by the water. Huge freighters, which were once piled high with dead trees, were empty.

“Unbelievable.” Josie said, as they made their way to the newspaper. “Why don’t you wait by the stairs over there. This story is about you and I don’t want any cops checking you out.” She told Vinnie, as she took a deep breath and walked into the building.

“Can I help you?” The lady at the front desk asked.

Josie was well composed this time, “I’m here with the story that stopped logging.”

“Just a moment.”
The lady left her seat and went through a door. A man appeared moments later, “Let’s go over here. So, you know Vinnie?” The reporter left off Vinnie’s last name for a casual effect.

“Yes, we are intimate. I know how the logging stopped.”

“Well yes, I know that also. It’s not ‘how’ I want to know, it’s ‘why’?”

“We saw how many logging trucks left the forest each day. We know that most logs are not even used in America. Those trees are precious, historic, peaceful, and provide us with Oxygen.” Josie said.

“That’s fine and dandy, but that’s not going to sell newspapers.” He crossed his arms.

“So, you want the naked crucifix part, is that it? You want me to say that Vinnie masturbated while waving at cars, is that it?” Josie said.

“Not exactly, I want the truth.”

“The truth is
, we’re killing the planet. It takes someone like Vinnie to get people’s attention.”

“So, is he a born-again?” The reporter leaned over and whispered, “Christ sells and Vinnie acted pretty Christ-like hanging from a trailer pole with vines, very archaic. I like it.”

“Vinnie did that because people only react to movie-size proportions of reality, which is misleading, because soon no one will care about the little stuff. No one will look anymore unless it’s a massacre at a Preschool, or the Pope did this or that, or someone sued a Rockstar for rape. Sensationalism is a good way to deaden the empathy of the common people for the common good.” Josie took a deep breath.

“Wow, Josie, you have a lot going on up there.”

Josie continued, “Vinnie is just a guy. You want a story, make it up, but I will tell you that logging stopped for a very good reason, and it’s only sensational to the people who care about trees.”

“Bravo Josie.” The reporter clapped weakly, “Let me go get your check.”

“Check?”

“Yes.
A check for your story.”

“Is it going to be the real story?”

“As real as the media allows.” His smile was crooked, just like his vibe.

When she left and came back to Vinnie she jumped on him.

“What happened?”

“Feel my pocket.”

He reached down and put his hand in her pocket.

“Not there!” She flinched.

“Oh, sorry.”
He felt an envelope and pulled it out. He opened it. The check was for two thousand dollars. “Nice, Josie, are we going out for Sushi?”

“Very funny, we can go home and get it free.”

“That turns me on when you speak about the wilderness as our home.”

“It was that way for everyone just a hundred years ago.”

“A hundred years will be our anniversary.” He said.

“You’re so sweet.” She got off of him.

“Now, where’s that fucker Bud?”

“Josie, that’s your father you’re cursing.”

“Yeah, well he’s got a lot of explaining to do.”

“What are we going to do with money?’ Vinnie asked.

“Let’s go to New York. I want to channel my father and other people who have passed. Maybe, I can help others.”

“How are we going to get there?”

“I’ve always wanted to be a stow-away on a freighter.” She said.

“Ships leaving the Puget Sound usually head to Hawaii, then Japan and China.”

“Weren’t you just in China, Vinnie?” She smiled and bit her bottom lip.

“Possibly.”

“Weren’t you just on the news?”

“Only my friends seek media attention.” Vinnie said modestly.

They kept walking back to Marymere Falls. Josie now felt she had control over the Gateway, and wanted to jump in and out of it, like an elevator. She looked at Vinnie, “Carry me like a hero would.”

Vinnie scooped her up and carried her. She felt the taut muscles of his arms on her back, as she closed her eyes and anticipated the spirals of light.

She flinched in Vinnie’s arms when she saw the first vision of a couple having sex in a bedroom. It was dark, except for the stereo light glowing blue on the bed and the outline of their bodies. What seemed like aggression bordering on brutality, the man thrusted into the woman. Josie was scared, but kept watching because she knew she wasn’t Present with them.

The music seemed Satanic, with a fast, primal beat and an indecipherable voice bellowed in a low growl. The man on top of her had long black hair. His eyes almost glowed in the dark with blood red; he
thrusted into her with the beat of the music. The woman shrieked, but held on for life, as the bed looked as if it were falling apart.

The bed eventually creaked, cracked and splintered apart, as the couple fell to the ground. A car’s headlights shown through the window and reveled the man as Vinnie. The woman with long curly hair looked back towards Josie and spoke, “Wow, he is a great fuck!” It was
Mezrolly. Mezrolly smiled and gave Vinnie a couple light slaps on the cheek, like he was a racehorse and laughed demonically.

“Go to hell!” Josie screamed. It shocked Vinnie, as he fell onto the trail and she landed on top of him.

“You fucker!” She slapped and hit him in the chest and face, until he grabbed her arms and rolled her over and was on top, “Stop it, Josie! Stop it!”