Night Diversions

          The rain was falling in sheets over the desolate and abandoned area a few miles outside of the small town of Rockford. It was the perfect place to kill and hide bodies; at least that's what Bobby and Jack thought as they drove their latest victims to the old warehouse. As they drove, they passed the old and falling apart train depot. The last vestige of days gone by in the modernizing town.
          The two latest victims, who looked like they had all the money in the world to Bobby and Jack, were about to be robbed and have their lives taken away from them after they had been stripped of their dignity and the woman raped. They thought their job was half done as the man has been seriously wounded in the struggle.
          The couple radiated a casual wealth as each wore long leather jackets and designer clothing. More important to the two men, who had stalked their prey for a mile along Main Street, was the jewelry that the man and woman each wore. Each man thought these items would bring in a bundle from one of their friends in high places. What thief could leave diamonds and gold alone when they seemed to be ripe for the picking?
          The man and woman were a good looking pair and looked like they would be an easy mark. The man's shoulder length black hair was pulled back by thin piece of leather and his chiseled features were currently clenched in rage and pain. He was tall; at least 6' 5" and was staring at the small pistol that Jack was pointing at them. The woman was a beauty and seemed to be terrified. Her dark brown hair was a short bob that framed her face. Her pale blue eyes were wide with fear and her full lips trembled. She looked ready to faint at any moment.
          Bobby was proud of his work tonight. He wasn't as good with a knife as he was with a gun, and thought his first attempt at robbing at knifepoint was a success. His only hope for the night was that the man would not die too soon from the stab wound Bobby had inflicted. He was amazed at how easily the silver plaited knife had slipped inside the man's coat and how soon it ended the fight.
          The old beat up Ford truck pulled into the loading dock of the warehouse. The men had used this spot before with several of their unsuspecting victims. The loading dock was perfect for what the men had planned. It was hidden from the road and the warehouse was only a mile from the quarry where the men had tossed previous victims.
          Bobby turned to the two people in the back seat, "Now lets get out nice and slowly and don't try anything. We have a surprise for you that you are going to love."
          The couple followed what Bobby said to do and got out of the truck slowly, the man clutching his side. When the pair was ordered at gunpoint to face the wall and put their hands behind their backs, they did as they were told but had different plans from what the two thieves had intended. For these two were not ordinary humans, they were actually not humans at all. They were Vampires, born centuries before and this is what they did; hunt down the worst of society and dispense justice in a quick and usually painful manner.
          Pressed up against the wall with her hands tied behind her back the woman mind sent her mate "Xavier sweetheart, when should we make our move. This is uncomfortable you know. I hate being tied up, you know that. And considering what I read in their minds they need to be dealt fast."
          "You were always the one to move on things too fast darlin' Jessica. Have patience, it won't be too much longer before we have these two taken care of, in fact lets move on the count of five, ok? Lets go 5. . .4. . .3. . ." the male Vampire faltered, the wound in his side was painful and the blood loss had made him a little unsteady on his feet. They had had no idea that their prey would fall so easily into their trap or that the men would have silver weapons. Silver could be harmful to vampire when it pierced the flesh.
          Jessica took up the count and was prepare to take on both men if she had to. It should be easy, after all these were only humans. ". . .2. . .1 ATTACK!"
          The woman spun around ripping the rope that had bound her hands. The man did the same turning so fast their captors only saw a blur as the gun and knife were torn from their hands and tossed aside. Each man was now held from behind in a headlock, Xavier holding Bobby so tight that Bobby thought he would be choked to death and as he struggled, the hold got tighter. The two men had no idea what was happening, they just knew something had gone wrong. Both figured that their captives would be easy to take care of and were stunned by the ferocity and speed of the attack.
          The two Vampires were not satisfied with just choking their victims since they had been in the minds of Bobby and Jack and knew what they were planning to do to them and what they had done in the past. They knew that these two men had murdered and raped dozens of men and women, stealing their property as well as their lives. Each whispered into the minds of their former captors, "You have been sentenced by higher powers to die for your crimes against the human race, pray to your God now so that you might be spared an eternity in Hell." With that, the Vampires incisors lengthened and sharpened and they began feasting on their would-be murderers. They were hungry since they hadn't eaten that night. When they had had their fill of the two men, they used the silver knife to slit the men's throats, hiding any trace that they had been used for a Vampires meal. When this was finished, Xavier and Jessica tossed the bodies in the back of the truck with the guns. Xavier kept the silver knife as a souvenir.
          "Jessica honey, let's get out of the rain. I'm hurting bad, I think I ripped open what had just healed. Shit! It's bleeding again." Xavier begged his companion to get out of the rain and to a dry space. He tried to hide the extent of his pain from his mate, but she could read his mind as easily as he could read hers and his face gave it all away.
          Putting her arm around his waist Jessica sent, "Lets head for the old depot. This place gives me the creeps. Do you know how many people those two killed here? This place has got to be haunted." Of course he knew how many had been killed; He had also been inside the killers minds.
          On their way to the depot, Xavier stumbled and cursed several times. They made it there by shear will and Jessica's extreme strength guiding them the whole way, supporting him when he would fall. Neither of them got wet as they walked through the rain and they were drying off quickly since they got soaked pretending to be human. She placed him on an old bench outside of the station and went to see about unlocking one of the doors. She found a door in the back of the station and used her mental powers to unlock the door so that no one would know that anyone had used this place for shelter.
          She had just opened the door and had stepped inside to find a spot that would hide them from the later day sun, when she and Xavier felt the presence of other Vampires near. Jessica ran around the building, reaching Xavier in seconds. Xavier stood up as the wind and rain began to swirl, opening up a patch of ground where no rain fell. Down into this dry area landed ten creatures with faces like demons. Their eyes were inset and their lips were pulled back in a snarl hissing their anger, showing their extended incisors and poisoning the air with their breath. Bracing themselves for an attack from these other Vampires Xavier and Jessica's beautiful features transformed. They looked like demons ready to fight to the death if things would escalate to violence. Vampires didn't like the presence of other Vampires in their territory. Apparently, Jessica and Xavier chose the wrong place for their vacation.
          Jessica, sizing the angry Vampires up quickly, recognized the leader of the group. She used the special mind path that she and Xavier shared to calm him down, "Look at the lead Vampire closely. No real threat here. It's only Bryan and the others. I don't think they mean us any harm they are just defending their territory. Just don't get all territorial about me and we'll be fine."
          Xavier stood his ground, "Bryan, how good it is to see you and the rest of the gang, where are the others or are you numbers less than when we were with you?"
          Bryan Snarled, "What are you doing here? You are on my property and I don't like trespassers. And what did you do while you are here? Kill! You killed two men; I can smell their blood in the wind and on you. I figured that there were only two of you here; even over the distance, I could smell you so I only brought a handful of my younger protégés. I want you both gone, now! We were once friends and I don't want to force you off of my land."
          Jessica trying to placate Bryan soothed, "There is no need for violence here. We were actually on vacation and didn't realize this was now part of your territory. We know how much you value your territory and would never intrude, especially since we left your clan a long time ago. It has been a long time. How about we all go inside and have a civil conversation and find out what's been going on since we last saw you a hundred years ago. Xavier was hurt by those two thugs we took care of and should rest for a few hours. Then we will go."
          Bryan snarled an agreement and told his troops to stand down and that they were going to spend some time here, so they should make themselves comfortable. Bryan was not happy to see his old friends since they had disgraced their kind.
          Jessica and Xavier had met when they were a part of Bryans group, his clan as he called it. They were cast out when the impossible happened; the two Vampires fell in love. Vampires could feel lust, and power and all of the other strong emotions except love or so everyone thought. Two Vampires falling in love was unknown to them and actually scared the ones in charge. That is why they left Bryan's clan; they were no longer welcome and were feared by the others.
          With the tension released the Vampires appearance changed. The beauty of Vampires is not well known since a few bad seeds in the past were hideous to look at. The ugliness of those few has made life easier for the current breed of Vampire. Prey doesn't suspect beauty of being dangerous. Of all the Vampires there, Xavier was the most handsome, Jessica thought, though Bryan's good looks had once held her attention. The brown-eyed boy next-door good looks of Bryan was always a good way for him to lure his preferred food to him. Bryan loved young females for dinner.
          Inside the dry train depot, the younger vampires began rummaging through the crates that were being stored there. No empty spaces were wasted in this town. They came across some old rum and a few bottles of wine out of crates marked "Defective: Return to Manufacturer, 1982" and decided to throw a little party with the twenty-five year old beverages. Considering the dust, they figured no one would notice a few missing bottles.
          Bryan, Xavier and Jessica, grabbed a bottle of wine and went to talk in the corner. Xavier got as comfortable as he could on the hard wooden floor of the abandoned building. His wound was healing very slowly and he needed some time to rest. While Jessica and Bryan finished off the bottle of wine Xavier stayed sober. He figured that drinking with his still painful stab wound was not a smart thing to do.
          Over the next few hours, the small group talked about moving around to keep safe and what the news was in the Vampire world of darkness. Bryan couldn't believe that Jessica and Xavier were still together after a century. He was even surprised that they were even alive after all that time. Jessica and Xavier told Bryan about hunting human predators and dispensing justice and told them about Bobby and Jack, the two men they disposed of that night. Bryan was still mad at what they had done but realized that it was probably for the best that these men were no longer a worry to the small town. The conversation was civil, though tense at times and Bryan said they were now welcome to stay as long as they needed to, but to behave themselves and not kill any more humans while they were there.
          It was about an hour until dawn when Jessica made the call to 911 that there were two bodies in a truck down by the old warehouse on county road seventy-five. They were all taken by surprise thirty minutes later when they heard sirens in the distance. Two things Vampires do very well is sober up quickly and get out of dangerous situations. Bryan and his crew left in the same way that they came, taking to the sky. A much slower escape was in order for Xavier and Jessica, since his wounds prohibited flying. The two Vampires who did the impossible and fell in love, walked away into the sunrise, with one leaning on the strength of the other.