Night Time 35

Once the felines had left to go outside I noticed the various bumps and groans from the adjoining room filtering through the thin walls. My skin twitched as I tried to ignore the moans and groans from my unseen neighbors. The room had a television and I flipped it on hoping to distract myself from the sounds. It was too late and there was nothing on but static and station call letters emblazed in black and white. I paced and wanted something to do. I wasn't even remotely interested in smoking or eating cheese snacks. I wanted something different. My mind flashed on what I thought was different from my usual boredom with life, then it hit me. God, I really was a vampire. The dancing images of blood and a throbbing need for something unnamed. I probably shouldn't have blown Harry off earlier. I really needed to be doing anything but traveling in my own mind and imagination. The cats announced their return, keeping me mildly distracted.

I opened the door to happy cats and bitter wind. Someone was coming up the walkway before I could close the door. I caught a glimpse of a slight woman holding heavy bags battling the snow and her head hung down. I couldn't tell what she looked like but my mind kept spinning she was vulnerable and prey. I quickly closed the door without saying a word. This was not a good thing. She went to the room next to me. I felt the thump of her closing the door. My brain was trying to figure out how I could get her. The cats entwined around my legs and grounded me.

Frozen by my impulsive thoughts I stood next to the door and tried to calm down. El Diablo and Banshee purred loudly. The folks on the other side of my room were still moaning and thumping their pleasures out when I overheard my newest neighbor on the phone talking loudly. She had a voice that was reedy and high pitched. Her tones were pathetic and pleading. It sounded like she was standing next to me.

"Vinny, you promised." I winced at how the woman was whining. The walls were thin but her voice would have cut through a thicker building with little effort. What ever Vinny was replying was not making the mousy woman happy.

She sobbed, "I know you are married, Vinny. But damn it, you owe me." She had a tone in her voice. Just like that I knew she had threatened to tell her lover's wife. I could almost see the bitterness etched on her face. She certainly didn't have a smile in her voice that was for sure. I found my fangs had fallen at the thought of how easy she would be subdued. She had been whipped all her life and was ripe for the plucking. I shook my head and tried to stop listening. It didn't work.

"Okay, Vinny. Ten minutes. I am in room 220. Yeah, the usual spot. Well, honey I miss you and it is my birthday." She was pathetic and pleading. I looked down to see my hands were clenched and my breath was ragged. I wanted to tear down the wall and slash her throat raw. Pushing away from wall I was now leaning on I knew I was not in control.

The cats followed me with their eyes. They had leaped up on the bed and were busying doing personal grooming. The purrs were soothing but not pushing my teeth back into my mouth. I paced and hadn't a clue what to do.

So I went to the desk in the room and looked at the phone. A note next to the phone carefully explained that outside dialing was done by dialing nine first and then the number and would be charged to your room when you check out. Direct room to room dialing was allowed but finding out where someone was in the motel was done only between nine a.m. and seven p.m. and was run through the front desk. So since I didn't know what rooms Cinda and Harry were given it would do me no good to try to phone them. I would have to go outside and actually go to them in their rooms if I want to speak with anyone. I hadn't even a clue what directions they went to find their rooms so tracking them down was an impossibility. Cinda could have come to me if she wasn't so tired but I knew she was already crashed. She and I had some sort of link and I could feel her sleeping off in the distance. I continued my fast pace around the room. The cats had begun to snooze and I was itching to do something. Anything -- whether it was good for me or not.

My phone rang. I picked it up hesitantly.

"Hello?" I figured I had been mistaken and it was an awake Cinda. I was wrong.

"What is going on?" Harry's voice resonated over the line.

I guess he knew where I was.

"I am hungry and there is some stupid lady next door crying for my personal attention," I bit out.

"Gwendolyn, what is really wrong?" Harry sounded very concerned. He completely ignored my comment about the woman still weeping in the room next door. Sweet, but what the hell does that do for me now? I found myself pacing at the end of the receiver. I knew he called to help but the thread of energy between us was not satisfying me at all. I could feel both sets of occupants in the rooms on either side of me. Yep both sides had activity -- the sex couple had finished and were semi-slumbering and the other lady was yearning for her married lover to show up her need was tangible and floating through the walls calling me.

"Gwendolyn, are you there?" I could hear him but wasn't really listening. There was a thumping sound outside my room. Literally the walls were trembling with the bass from a car approaching.

Without thinking I slowly placed the receiver back on the phone while Harry was still speaking. I didn't feel him anymore in my head. The song pounding from the parking lot was one of those popular stupid disco tunes that were getting played constantly on the radio. It was cruel and was pushing out anything but the thundering bass and bad lyrics running around my head. My teeth ground against each other as I found myself straining to fly outside and kill the source of the music.

As if I had commanded it the music cut off. The silence echoed in the night. Now I could hear the creak of the bed from the room with the couple who had been having sex. It was the unsettled motion of restless bodies trying to find the perfect spot on lumpy mattresses and with lovers they didn't know. It rung untrue and fake. That was definitely a couple not lasting past the winter thaw. I could still hear the 220 gal bouncing around her room.

The crunching of footsteps coming up the stairwell caused a flurry of sounds from my neighbor. Through the thin wall I could hear her panic as she tried to set whatever scene she had planned. Rustling and mild thumping while she positioned herself on the middle of the bed. There was a pause outside my doorway and I went to the peak hole to see what this lady's man looked like. He was looking at my door and his mouth was moving as he was reading the number when my eye went to the hole. The fisheye lens in the door gave Vinny an extremely sharp nose and weasel-like pinched eyes. They were unremarkable in their brown color, no deep intelligence shining behind them. He was wearing a slick looking shirt unbuttoned to the middle of a shallow chest. Remarkable in that there was absolutely not a sign of chest hair and a blizzard was still rolling over this area most folks would have been wearing at least a hat and scarf not to mention buttoning up their clothes. He took a minute to check his breath with a cupped hand as he turned to the next room. With his icy breath puffing out I caught a glimpse of a gold pinky ring which went well with the heavy gold chains lying across his bluish white chest. It had to be twenty degrees outside and I wondered if the gold would freeze to his skin.

I could hear him knock on the door from where I stood. The woman called out, "Who is it?' Like she hadn't essentially blackmailed him into driving over in the snowstorm.

"Cut it out, Melinda," Vinny didn't sound happy to be there.

"Is that you, Vinny Monti?" She was going for cute and failing pretty thoroughly.

I heard his exhaling reply, "Yes, it is, Melinda Turcotte. Now come open up the fucking door. I'm freezing my balls off out here."

I don't think Melinda heard his mumbling, "You wacko stupid bitch." But from my vantage point not only did I hear it but it made me grin. Oops. Still sporting those new fangs and now I could see where they could be useful.

My phone rang again. I faltered with my hand on the door knob, I had been ready to fly out and snag Vinny as he went to see his lover. It rang again. I knew it was Harry and it would keep ringing until I picked it up. That would distract anyone.

Going over I snatched up the handset hissing, "What?"

"Gwendolyn, you are out of control," big shock it was Harry on the other end. He sounded pretty mad at me. I found my fangs retreating and the response was like a dog's tail between its legs when being scolded. That irritated me more than Harry checking on me.

"Well, you made me this creature. What exactly did you think I would do? Simply sit back and wait for you to boss me around and ask your permission?" I bit out and wondered at my sudden burst of verbal skills. I rarely cared much about answering people much less arguing.

"Don't move. Stay right there I will be with you as soon as Art falls asleep." Harry was talking pretty muffled. It dawned on me that Art was probably in the bathroom or just plain hiding from Harry. I tried to keep the grin off my face as I thought Harry was seriously mistaken if he thought Art would even be able to fall asleep. Harry was an unknown strong personality, not to mention an FBI agent, and after all by everything I had observed it seemed Art was hiding something. A great combination for insomnia.

"Harry, I am making you no promises." It was the least I could say. Not to mention the truth.

"Wait," Harry replied to me while I could hear Art entering the room asking with suspicion, "Who's that on the phone you're talking to?"

Yeah, sure Art would be sleeping soon. I smiled not saying anything more and found as I put the receiver back onto the handset that my fangs had come back with a vengeance. Had to appreciate they had their own agenda, I thought while walking back to the closet to see what a girl was to wear to slay some now noisy neighbors. I had missed the initial entrance of Vinny-boy with my phone call but could now feel the thumping and broken rhythm of their erratic pumping. Melinda certainly hadn't wasted any time getting right to her birthday gift. Both of them were vocal, I quickly noticed once I had hung up on Harry.