Night Time 24

Harry stood in the doorway for a minute and said in a commanding voice, "Maria, invite us in." I could hear Erika walking briskly into the depths of the house. I had thought he didn't need any invitation inside because Maria was his pet. Then I noticed how Harry was strumming with tension. I found that telling. What was so wrong with Leo that made Harry this obliviously nervous?

Maria yowled as the cats tore open even more of her face, I could see a glimpse of white. Bone white -- literally as the under part of her cheek bone was now exposed through the long gashes in her face. Her eyes danced around wildly and I could see the madness taking control. I felt a pitch of my stomach and a thumping of my heart within my veins. All her blood, tainted as it may be, it called to me in some peculiar way. Even while she was flayed to a degree I had never seen a human being exposed I kept licking my lips and throbbing in a strange way. Then it dawned on me she was probably not a human being. But then was I?

"Now, Maria." Harry was firmly controlling his voice. I could feel waves of sensuality flowing from him that made Maria pull her ravaged face up long enough to smile. Here she was dying by inches from the feline attacks and yet she was responding to Harry like he was a Sunday suitor come to call. His body was still and his eyes intensely looking down to her while he waited. Blood freely flowing down her face she looked up at Harry and said, "Please enter my home, sir."

"Invite us all in, Maria Winters. Not just me." That explained why he just didn't dash inside, he wanted all of us invited in her home. Erika wasn't the same as the three of us outside -- she wasn't haunted like Cinda was by Misty, nor a near vampire like me. I repressed a gulp at that thought flowing so easily from my mind. I had to admit to myself that Harry was a vampire after what I had seen down the street at the Greggs' house. Harry's voice was taunt with unspoken levels of complexity. I found it interesting that Maria dipped her head and said, "Please, you are all welcome in my home."

With that we all flowed into the house rapidly. There was a moan and thump. We all ran towards the sound. Harry was wickedly fast but Cinda and I weren't that far behind him. Taking the stairs two at a time we soon found ourselves on the threshold of a large room at the top of the stairs. The moans were coming from behind the half opened door.

My amusement at the oddity of my life and the twisted natures of my neighbors that had been revealed to me in the past few days was now being given another bit of insanity to process. The door swung open at Cinda's open handed slap against the wooden surface. Erika was framed in the middle of the room. I saw that she still held a gun in her hand. I didn't know whether to be relieved that it was the actual gun not the water filled one but seeing the weapon was somehow calming. What was not particularly calming was how Leo looked.

Old naked men are not in any way attractive to me. Not that I had seen a great many nude bodies but I knew the horrible sight of Leo Winters was completely stuck in my head forever. Leo's lack of wardrobe was the least of his problems. The gag in his mouth was a nice black silk scarf. His arms were lashed to the huge four-poster bed with matching red silk scarves while his feet were held with a deep blue set of scarves. His skin was gray and oiled. I could see layers upon layers of new and old scars. Like he had been painfully tortured all of his life. Then my eyes detected his obvious enjoyment. My mistake -- it seemed Leo had a twist or two in his sexual nature. I shuddered at the evidence before us while I could hear Cinda softly chuckling.

Undesired my mind wondered why had Maria come to the door when Banshee screamed demanding entrance a bit earlier wearing clothing. Not exotic bedroom clothes, but her normal, everyday, Maria Winters-styled wardrobe. She had Leo upstairs all greased up and tied down and had been fully dressed, that was confusing me. My eyes still didn't know where to rest. Leo was not embarrassed in the least at being found bound hand and foot to his bed. A movement to the right of the bed caught my attention. I then noticed that Erika hadn't been training her gun on the tied down Leo but on Leo's playmate. What I had thought was just a blanket tossed on the floor from the bedding suddenly moved. And why Cinda was now outright laughing became apparent as Louella Morton immerged at Erika's barking command for her to, "Drop the blanket and stand now!"

While Leo was proud of his naked body, with really no good reason as far as I could tell, Louella was mortified to stand exposed in front of us. Cinda laughed saying, "Well, at least this one isn't dead!" Alluding to the now long-gone mayor last found fatally romping with Louella. Tasteless but a bit humorous, definitely a Cinda type of comment.

I, on the other hand, wasn't so sure what state of dead or alive Leo fell into given the oddness of the town. Harry smiled and nodded saying softly, "Good call."

I shook my head slightly. Had I said that aloud? Or maybe he was just commenting on Cinda's remark? Erika walked towards Louella, still holding her weapon in the classic two handed pose best suited to keep her gun steady, saying in a severely stressed tone, "Step away from the blanket."

Blushing to the roots of her black beehive Louella said, "But I need to cover up!"

Her lipstick today was a frosty pink, I guess she gave up the corals since the Mayor's demise, and she still had applied her usual frost blue eye shadow with a heavy hand further accenting her eyes with a thick line of black liner. Her eyes welled up with unshed tears of shame and confusion. All of us standing there were left with only a few focal points to look at that weren't vaguely naughty.

Erika audibly gulped as she figured out it was Louella she had her gun trained on so menacingly. After all Erika knew her. She wasn't some faceless villain but someone who had bantered with her and served her massive amounts of food. I thought I detected a slight tremble in her hands as she continued to train the gun on Louella. Louella blinked and a single tear cutely fell down her face. Erika dropped her weapon turning to Harry saying, "It's your call."

Harry nodded and moved towards the shivering Louella. I noticed Louella was no longer afraid from the way she was holding her body. In fact, I could detect a decided pleasure at Harry nearing her. I wanted to run. I mean, it was bad enough knowing far too much about Leo's anatomy but now I was looking upon how much Louella was obviously attracted to Harry. Harry was discreet and casually draped the blanket over Louella. Blinking her overly mascara lashes up at Harry, she simpered, "Thank you."

My stomach flip flopped while something else began to flow through my body and mind. Louella wasn't tainted blood. She was stupid in her choice of men. But not tainted like Maria and Leo. I felt very odd and very hungry.

Harry met my eyes and said, "I am fine with your choice. But you can't do it alone."

I didn't care. All I cared about was draining Louella dry. Then my eye caught Erika and Cinda standing there looking extremely attentive. Somehow I didn't feel comfortable with Erika and Cinda seeing who or what I had become before I was even sure who I was. My hesitation must have been obvious to Harry because he nodded slowly and said, "Erika, why don't you and Cinda go see what can be done about Maria and make sure those two don't come back for Gwendolyn."

Again he used that voice that allowed no argument. After a brief glance to the bed, Erika said, "As you wish, Harry. Give us a shout if you need anything."

Harry smiled and escorted them out the door. Cinda flashed briefly a look to Louella huddled on the floor. It wasn't a concerned glance but dismissive and a bit gloating. It dawned on me that she saw Louella as competition for Harry. Misty took a peek and winked at me as she was led out of the room by both Erika and Harry.

She couldn't resist a comment, "Harry, don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Her coy remark left me puzzling what exactly was it that Misty wouldn't do. After all she was pretty much another unknown. That was something I kept sticking to the back of my mind every time something new changed the shape of my world. There were far too many more pressing issues that kept bumping that concern lower on my list.

"Never a worry, you two just watch yourselves." That was all Harry felt he needed to reply. Since both women left it seemed it was enough.

Once the door shut Leo began to put up a fuss from behind his gag. He still was aroused and Harry casually draped the remaining bedding over his overly bare body. Not nearly enough was covered as far as I was concerned. I would be having glimpses of that old man's wrinkled and scarred skin for years to come I knew. Louella wasn't making any sound from her corner. It was like she wanted us to simply forget she was in the room. Not likely since Leo held no appeal to me. I had this energy humming within my body that was making me itchy and jumpy. It was like the excitement I felt as a little girl waking at dawn on Christmas morning. That strumming of energy and unknown thrills awaiting my opening up of unexpected gifts and colorfully wrapped packages. And something more. Something with a bit of fear and lust lacing back and forth through my blood and it was making me very edgy and excited. The aches and pains from my nocturnal pricks and bruising were pulsing with my heartbeat. Harry looked at me and said, "You are ready."

It wasn't a question but a statement. I was ready.