Test Run 1 What Haunts san Antonio
Eleven-fifty three
The club was getting smokey. It already smelled vaguely of body odor and cheap liquor, but now the funny smells were going to her head. Leaving some cash on the bar, she moved through the throng of men-her small frame squeezing in between their bigger, sweatier ones, and when she finally pushed the heavy double door open, her face was bathed with cool autumn air that made her instantly relax. If only for half a second.
"Dallas."
She let out half a girlish shriek as he stepped in front of her, putting a hand over her heart.
"Jesus, Cal!" She breathed. "You scared me! What the hell are you doing here?"
Cal scoffed. "What am I doing here? What are you doing here? This is a gay bar. What do you think's actually going to happen after you go stumbling out after two ALONE?"
Dallas ran a few of her fingers through her rust-colored hair. Cal looked at her, eyebrows raised. He was a good head taller than she was, but she punched in him in the arm anyway. Hard.
"What do you want?" She demanded, snuggling against him for warmth.
Cal retrieved his phone from his jacket pocket.
"Got news from Beau," he told her. "Jordan did, I mean. He said the Sangrado Reyes is out tonight." He showed her the text message. "Full force."
"Sangrado Reyes what the hell?" Dallas blinked, taking his hand with the phone in it and shoving it closer to her face. "No, they agreed that if we gave them the bags-"
"That they'd lay low," Cal finished. "I don't know why I keep having to explain this to all of you six hundred times, but they're bloodsuckers. They DON'T care."
He took his hand back and put his phone in his pocket. Dallas stared at him, disgusted.
"Look, just because you're new to this gig-" she began, starting to walk.
"I'm not new to this 'gig'," He said, making one-handed air-quotes. " I've been dealing with this bullshit in West Texas for years now. What I'm new to is the fact that your bunch gives monsters get-out-of-kill free coupons."
Dallas stopped walking and let her head roll back. "Here we go."
"You feed them, for Christ's sake!" Cal continued. "And then you wonder why they turn on your deals, coming back stronger and more of them."
"What do you you want us to do?" Dallas demanded loudly, spinning around to face him. "Huh? San Antonio has more vampires than it does cartel and if we just go around killing them left and right, they're gonna get pissed, and they're gonna start eating jugulars right off the street."
"We don't actually eat jugulars."
Dallas and Cal both jumped a little at that, Cal ripping out his pistol with wooden-tipped bullets that he always kept on his person. They relaxed when they realized who it was.
"Beau..." Dallas sighed. "So what's the hey-hey?"
Beau was a bloodsucker who'd never left San Antonio since the sixties where he'd met his tragic end at the age of twenty-seven as well as his cryptic reawakening. Originally from New Orleans with Russian Jewish and Romanian gypsie heritage, he had the faintest hint of his old accent and was overall just odd to look at and be around, though Dallas often commented on how handsome he was.
Jordan appeared behind him shortly-a jacket thrown over his unbuttoned security guard shirt revealing his gray tshirt. He had at least changed into some jeans. With him was Carla.
"The Sangrado Reyes leader, Lucien," Jordan said. "He issued a challenge tonight to the Goliads." He sighed, seeming hesitant to finish. "Bring a wolf pelt to their door, and they'll step off their territory."
"It's the full moon," Carla reminded them.
"I thought they agreed to keep wolves out of it," Dallas said.
"You guys are insane!" Cal told them. "The word 'agree' and bloodsuckers don't go together."
"Why are they battling now?" Beau asked calmly. It bothered all of them. The way nothing excited or riled him. Ever.
Jordan still seemed to hesitant.
"Well?" Cal prodded, sounding annoyed.
"Sangrando Reyes wants Santa Rosa Street," Jordan said, sounding equally short with having to tell.
Dallas and Carla gasped after a few seconds.
"The Children's Hospital is off limits to all bloodsuckers!" Carla said. "They know that."
"I'm done." Cal said, taking out his pistol. "I'm done connecting these dots for you. I'm gonna go and murder some bloodsuckers."
The club was getting smokey. It already smelled vaguely of body odor and cheap liquor, but now the funny smells were going to her head. Leaving some cash on the bar, she moved through the throng of men-her small frame squeezing in between their bigger, sweatier ones, and when she finally pushed the heavy double door open, her face was bathed with cool autumn air that made her instantly relax. If only for half a second.
"Dallas."
She let out half a girlish shriek as he stepped in front of her, putting a hand over her heart.
"Jesus, Cal!" She breathed. "You scared me! What the hell are you doing here?"
Cal scoffed. "What am I doing here? What are you doing here? This is a gay bar. What do you think's actually going to happen after you go stumbling out after two ALONE?"
Dallas ran a few of her fingers through her rust-colored hair. Cal looked at her, eyebrows raised. He was a good head taller than she was, but she punched in him in the arm anyway. Hard.
"What do you want?" She demanded, snuggling against him for warmth.
Cal retrieved his phone from his jacket pocket.
"Got news from Beau," he told her. "Jordan did, I mean. He said the Sangrado Reyes is out tonight." He showed her the text message. "Full force."
"Sangrado Reyes what the hell?" Dallas blinked, taking his hand with the phone in it and shoving it closer to her face. "No, they agreed that if we gave them the bags-"
"That they'd lay low," Cal finished. "I don't know why I keep having to explain this to all of you six hundred times, but they're bloodsuckers. They DON'T care."
He took his hand back and put his phone in his pocket. Dallas stared at him, disgusted.
"Look, just because you're new to this gig-" she began, starting to walk.
"I'm not new to this 'gig'," He said, making one-handed air-quotes. " I've been dealing with this bullshit in West Texas for years now. What I'm new to is the fact that your bunch gives monsters get-out-of-kill free coupons."
Dallas stopped walking and let her head roll back. "Here we go."
"You feed them, for Christ's sake!" Cal continued. "And then you wonder why they turn on your deals, coming back stronger and more of them."
"What do you you want us to do?" Dallas demanded loudly, spinning around to face him. "Huh? San Antonio has more vampires than it does cartel and if we just go around killing them left and right, they're gonna get pissed, and they're gonna start eating jugulars right off the street."
"We don't actually eat jugulars."
Dallas and Cal both jumped a little at that, Cal ripping out his pistol with wooden-tipped bullets that he always kept on his person. They relaxed when they realized who it was.
"Beau..." Dallas sighed. "So what's the hey-hey?"
Beau was a bloodsucker who'd never left San Antonio since the sixties where he'd met his tragic end at the age of twenty-seven as well as his cryptic reawakening. Originally from New Orleans with Russian Jewish and Romanian gypsie heritage, he had the faintest hint of his old accent and was overall just odd to look at and be around, though Dallas often commented on how handsome he was.
Jordan appeared behind him shortly-a jacket thrown over his unbuttoned security guard shirt revealing his gray tshirt. He had at least changed into some jeans. With him was Carla.
"The Sangrado Reyes leader, Lucien," Jordan said. "He issued a challenge tonight to the Goliads." He sighed, seeming hesitant to finish. "Bring a wolf pelt to their door, and they'll step off their territory."
"It's the full moon," Carla reminded them.
"I thought they agreed to keep wolves out of it," Dallas said.
"You guys are insane!" Cal told them. "The word 'agree' and bloodsuckers don't go together."
"Why are they battling now?" Beau asked calmly. It bothered all of them. The way nothing excited or riled him. Ever.
Jordan still seemed to hesitant.
"Well?" Cal prodded, sounding annoyed.
"Sangrando Reyes wants Santa Rosa Street," Jordan said, sounding equally short with having to tell.
Dallas and Carla gasped after a few seconds.
"The Children's Hospital is off limits to all bloodsuckers!" Carla said. "They know that."
"I'm done." Cal said, taking out his pistol. "I'm done connecting these dots for you. I'm gonna go and murder some bloodsuckers."