Julie pulled into the parking lot of the Hub, and was surprised to find it deserted. The place was usually packed every night, tonight the whole town seemed to be dead.
She pushed open the door and found William, Carla and Roxanne all sitting around the center table of the bar, a bucket filled with ice and beer in the middle of them.
"You all look like hell." Julie pulled up a chair and sat down, pulling a beer from the bucket and twisting off the cap.
The cold, bitter liquid was exactly what she needed. She leaned back in her seat and looked her friends over.
"Well, we’ve been through it, so I guess that’s appropriate." Roxanne was the only one at the table smoking, her cigarette shaking between unstable fingers.
"She got attacked." Carla pretended to read the label on her bottle, avoiding taking a drink. "So did Paul and Roy. Nurse went crazy at the hospital."
"Is everyone okay?" Julie sat up, shocked at what she was hearing.
"No. A friend of mine was killed." William put his beer down, and began to rub his eyes. "This isn’t going to just go away, is it?"
"I don’t think so." Julie looked around but she couldn’t find Paul or Roy.
"They’re upstairs. Both of them are in pretty bad shape." Carla stood, heading over to the jukebox. "How about something happy? We could all use a change of mood, right?"
"Please." Roxanne took a long drag.
"I met your great-grandmother." Julie looked at William. "She looks mighty hot for her age, and she doesn’t seem to really like clothes."
Carla stopped dead in her tracks. She looked at Julie.
"Tall, long black hair, big boobs?"
Julie nodded.
"And bright red lipstick." Julie took a swig from her beer. "Moira Clawson is very much alive."
William sat up straight, nearly choking on his beer. His eyes met Carla’s, and Julie could sense that they knew exactly who they were talking about.
"The woman with Harvey." Carla’s hand went to her mouth, her eyes wide. "That was your great grandmother."
"I think I’m going to be sick." William got up from the table quickly and rushed towards the bathroom.
"What’s his problem? And what about Harvey?" Julie turned around to look at Carla.
Carla sat back down at the table, but she still seemed dazed.
"She was the woman we saw with Harvey in the library."
"You mean William watched his great grandmother getting it on with some twenty year old?" Roxanne stuck out her tongue, her face contorting in disgust. "That’s disgusting."
"So, creepy family moments aside, what do we do now?" Julie put her beer down on the table, and pulled one of Roxanne’s cigarettes out of the pack.
William walked back towards them, his face sheet white. He sat down, and followed Julie’s example, grabbing a cigarette.
"You know doc, those things are bad for you, right?" Roxanne slipped her pack off the table and dropped it in her purse.
"I got turned on by my great grandmother performing some twisted blood ritual in the public library last night. I think I deserve one cigarette." He lit up and took a small drag.
"We get ready to fight." Carla stood, walking behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. She poured her self a rather large glass, and tipped it back to, not stopping once to everyone’s amazement.
"I thought you didn’t drink?" Julie was starting to feel a little worried about her friend’s state of mind.
"I’m going to need a little liquid courage to do something as stupid as fight some ancient nymphomaniac who seems to like young men’s blood and the cool night’s wind between her legs." She poured herself another glass.
Julie walked to the bar and grabbed the glass from Carla before she could take a drink.
"Give me that." Carla reached for it, and Julie stepped back.
"Hell no. We all need a clear head." She looked at Carla, then downed the glass herself. She had to struggle to keep the whiskey down, but once it settled she slammed the glass on the bar. "So tonight we can relax, but once the sun rises, we need to get our act together."
"Aye aye Captain." Roxanne gave Julie a salute, then finished off her beer. "I’m going to need something stronger than this."
"I think we all do." William stood, walking over to the bar. "Hand me that bottle of Vodka."
"Try whiskey, it’ll put some hair on your chest." Carla handed him the whiskey bottle.
William shrugged.
"It’ll get me drunk, won’t it?"
Carla nodded, and William took the bottle, popping off the little serving cap, and took a big swig.
Roxanne was at his side.
"Save some for me."
Julie sat at the bar, watching her friends drink away their pain. Right now it felt like the only thing they could do. If they didn’t forget, at least for a few hours, she knew they wouldn’t be able to handle what knew Moira had coming.
-*-
Moira sat on her throne, Harvey at her feet. He was naked, quivering, huddled in a ball and crying. She couldn’t understand what he was saying, and every time he opened his mouth, a thick pool of blood would push past his lips and dribble down his chin.
He was pitiful.
She stood, kneeling next to Harvey, her hand gently stroking his back.
"It’ll be okay baby. Let me make you feel all better."
She took his head in her hands and rested it against her bare breasts. She could feel his warm blood dripping onto her skin, and his young, strong life force entering her body.
Harvey had failed her, true, but he would prove useful to her in other ways.
Her hand moved to his chest and gently stroked the smooth, hairless flesh.
"Yes, all better." She curled her nails, pushing them against the center of Harvey’s chest.
He howled as her fingers broke the skin and began to dig into his flesh. He tried to get away, but she grabbed his hair, yanking his head back.
She looked into those wide, terrified eyes, and smiled. He was crying, and yet, she could see that he was still excited by her touch.
"Just think, you are sacrificing yourself for me. What greater honor is there, really?" She yanked her nails down, ripping his chest open.
The blood sprayed out, covering her body. She dropped the twitching body that had once been Harvey Ridge, and stood, feeling his youth enter her, empower her.
Her followers watched, then when she turned, walking back to her throne, the pounced, surrounding Harvey’s lifeless body, getting what little of his life blood they could.
Moira sat back in her throne, her legs crossed, her body now bloodless. Her skin had absorbed every last drop.
Both her minions had failed tonight, but it had gotten the point across. Julie and her little friends now knew that the Black Rose Society meant business.
She closed her eyes, feeling her skin becoming taught, her muscles gaining strength. Oh how she loved being young and beautiful, and luckily she knew how to stay that way forever.
She laughed, the sound echoing through her crypt place
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