It's my Party and I'll Die if I want too

[adrian]

"Die Hunter. Your kind are vermin," the vampire spat as it put a hand around his throat and began to clamp down. "Think you can treat your betters this way. Tcht, tcht, tcht. We are the ones that hunt you." The vampire rose to his feet and easily brought Adrian with him. Adrian's hands grabbed uselessly at the vampire's vice grip, his fingers scrabbling for purchase on the smooth, pale white skin of the vamp's forearm, the skinny, lean muscle standing out against skin, much too weak looking to be able to do what it was doing. His feet kicked at the vampires' chest since his feet were now off the floor but it was like kicking a wall. Adrian couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so hopelessly overpowered. And then the memory came back to him. He'd been 11 and he'd been facing a full grown man. That was what it was like trying to fight the vampire's strength. But he hadn't won all those years ago by being stronger, he'd won by being smarter.

Adrian grabbed the vamp's arm and dug both thumbs in between the tendons on the underside of its wrist. He knew the damn things were dead and nigh indestructible but he hoped all the tissues still connected in the same way. The knee bone connected to the thigh bone. The thigh bone connected to the hip bone.

The vampire's hand clenched harder than ever for a moment as a spasm passed through it and then it involuntarily opened as the creature pulled his arm away. Adrian dropped to the floor and picked up the gun. He quickly stood up and aimed at the vamp's forehead before pulling the trigger. It's head snapped back with the impact and he saw the vamp grimace in pain as it began to fall. The damn thing still wasn't dead but it was probably out for the count, at least for now.

Adrian looked around to take in the new situation. While he'd been playing with the vampire things had changed and he wasn't sure if it was for the better or for the worse. Simplicity was next to her dead friend and a couple of guys were grappling with the last vamp by the back door though he seemed like he was more playing with them than anything. Neither vamp had noticed their friend go down and Adrian wasn't likely to tell them about it either.

As the third vampire went to dispatch one of his attackers Simplicity started screaming and he looked over long enough to allow the man to stab the vamp with a broken pool stick, the last pool stick to be exact. Adrian had a brief moment of elation where he'd thought the vamp would go poof, but it just back handed the man across the bar and pulled the pool stick out.

Adrian raised his gun. He'd already fired three times and it had taken two bullets just to incapacitate one of them and one had been a heart shot and the other a head shot. He wasn't liking their chances when they still had two to deal with.

He swung the muzzle of the gun towards the unhurt vamp and fired and missed. Fuck, now he was worse off.

"I will be good forever," he prayed as he began running towards the last vamp, hoping to get a better shot and to clear the door so that at least some of them can escape. "Like...three days, I promise, just let me get the bastard."

[Simplicity]

“Please work, please work, please work,” She muttered as she slipped the knife into Scott’s skin. A silent apology to her dead friend as some of the blood began to leak out slowly onto the blade and the floor. His heart may have stopped beating but she figured the major artery that ran through the area would be able to supply some dead man’s blood. Removing the blade, Sim felt sick seeing the blood but thankful. The blade was palmed just a vampire appeared behind her and grabbed a fist full of her hair.

“Why? Come on honey,” It smirked with a mouth full of sharp teeth (looked like Bram got that one wrong too), “We were just going to have a good time till that hunter decided to make everything go pear shaped. In fact we’re looking for some new additions.”

Simplicity was shaking in fear that the vampire would smell the blood. It apparently thought that she was just scared of the big bad monsters. Which she was, she was just more afraid of being found out. Priorities were important to establish.

“Shhh,” It ran a free hand across her face, “This don’t have to end badly for you honey. How’d you like to live forever?”

Before it said something else that would make her sick Simplicity slashed at the hand that held her hair. At first the vampire seemed midly amused, laughing about taking her response as a “no”. It’s face fell though as it looked at the cut and saw black inching up it’s veins. As it stared at her in blank horror Simplicity took the opportunity to stab it in the heart.

It fell backwards to the ground which wasn’t that far actually. Looking down at the thing it almost looked human except for the fact it was still twitching with a knife in it’s chest. She would have felt relieved if it wasn’t for the two other sets off eyes she felt staring at her.

“Just bend me over something already,” she swore at the universe. Her goal to get the vampires attention appeared to have worked too well. That lesson would only matter if she actually made it till morning.

[adrian]

Seeing both of his buddies go down spooked the last vamp, especially since he had a hunter running toward him. "Asked ya to leave," Adrian said as he raised his gun and fired one of his last two bullets. The vamp hissed as the bullet went through his shoulder.

"Murderer," it screamed, fangs bared.

"You're one to speak," Adrian said as he leveled his gun with his last bullet at the vampire but before he could shoot it turned around with inhuman speed and exited the door it had been guarding. Adrian turned around and saw Simplicity standing over one of the vamps with a knife in her hand. He had the insane urge to say, 'that's my girl' except she wasn't his in any way and he was still trying not to offend her now that it looked like they were going to live. The happy thought was crushed when he saw her dead friend at her feet and he remembered that he had a job to do. Hunt down monster.

"Hold things down in here, I'm going after the last one," Adrian said before ducking out the door and running down the back alley, trying to catch up with something that was going way faster than him while he was only carrying one bullet in his gun. He headed back towards the bar after a couple of minutes of fruitless searching. "Lost him."

[Simplicity]

Simplicity really wanted to roll up into a ball or do something else counter production. Her friend was dead, the bartender was dead, and the people she actually wanted dead kept getting back up. Also she was almost positive she was going to end up dead as well. Sucky birthday now that she thought about it. She was almost so out of it she almost laughed at her own stupid pun.

“Murderer” the vamp screamed and Sim came back to the real world for a moment. She’d debate later if the real world did still exist right now she needed to survive. Which was when the monster decided to split.

“Can do,” she said numbly as Adrian ran outside. Simplicity hoped he didn’t die, he was entertaining and had probably saved her life, but if he did she hoped he had the courtesy to scream. While he was gone a few of the other patrons including a number of her friends took the opportunity to vacate the premises.

She stood next to the vampire on the floor and her dead friend with a death grip on the knife. When Adrian returned she didn’t relax much but was relieved, especially since she didn’t hear any screaming of the dying sort.

“I,” she took a deep breath and exhaled, “I don’t think this thing is dead, his eyes keep moving.” Simplify pointed at the one on the ground with her knife, “what do we do?”

[adrian]

Adrian looked down at the vampire at their feet, took a moment to think and then shrugged, cocked the gun and shot the thing point blank in the forehead with his last silver bullet. He didn't know if it would kill it but it would keep it down for a while and that's all he needed.

"Now," he said, looking up at Simplicity. "We get out of here and we call the cops. If these things wake up I don't want to be around when they do and I know someone who should know how to kill them for good. But either way, we aren't really equipped to handle this situation anymore. Let's get out of here yeah?"

[Simplicity]

She nodded and looked down at the vampire. It looked all sorts of not good but she wasn’t sure if it was dead, which meant she walked around it as widely as possible. “Yes, please,” she said when he suggested leaving, “you have a car?”

Simplicity gave the bar a quick glance. All of her friends had split and neglected to make sure she had made it out as well. She didn’t think too badly of them, Sim could appreciate self preservation. Which reminded her to grab her purse, she didn’t want the police to get her information. The idea of telling a couple of badges her friend was killed vampires was not appealing.

With that done she followed Adrian outside. She fell in step with him before saying, “Thanks by the way. My birthday would have really sucked if you weren’t there to play knight in shining armor.”

“Wow,” she mused, “I almost got killed and I’m still a victim to bad puns and clichés.” Seriously, sucked? That was just horrible.

[adrian]

"Knight in shining armor?" Adrian asked with raised eyebrows as he headed towards his car. "That's a new one. Normally I hear asshole, dick, tough guy...never knight. But hey, maybe that's one of the perks of fighting monsters now which brings me to the obvious. You want an explanation for what happened back there or do you want me to just drop you off somewhere and you never think about it again?"

They had reached his car and Adrian turned back to look at her as he asked the question. He didn't even try to read people so he didn't know how she was feeling. Even if he'd been the type the harsh shadows cast by the streetlight over their heads made sure her eyes were in deep shadow and made every expression hard to read so Adrian just stood their fiddling slightly with his keys.

[Simplicity]

“That or shimmering,” She laughed but there was a shake in her voice, “Slaying monsters would do it, ganked and dragons lately have you? Being cute helps your case. Don’t really know you well enough to call you an asshole. Besides you just kinda saved my life so at the moment you are in the good books.”

Simplicity glanced over her shoulder at the parking lot, “I had two options for rides. One of him is dead and the other one made his way out of Dodge. It’s go with you or call a cab or wait for the cops to show or wait for vampy to come back with friends. Honestly I think going with you in is the safest case.”

She put a hand on the handle of his car and smiled weakly. Sim looked over the top at him, “I just want you to know, most of the time I don’t get into vehicles with guys I just met. Consider yourself in witness to a rare act good sir. Where we headed?”

[adrian]

Her answer was half filled with flirtation but otherwise made up of the usual fear and slight shock of encountering the unnatural if not the unknown for the first time. Even though people were always a bit shocked at first he'd found they accepted the existence of vampires and ghouls and werewolves pretty easily. And why shouldn't they? They had all heard stories about these monsters since they were old enough to hear and, in some part of their being not corrupted by fast food, cheap air travel and HD technology, they knew there had to be some basis for the stories.

Adrian smiled at the woman on the other side of the car. He'd met some pretty competent people in this line of work. Despite Jeff's often flippant attitude about everything he was serious about hunting. And the few times a family in need had decided to help out they normally were pretty competent too. Still, it was always nice to find someone who had a stomach for this work.

Sure, his experience with life told him it was all just shock. Later she'd probably mourn the friend who had just died, freak out about the fact that she had almost died, start to wonder how many more things went bump in the night. Later the pain and fear would settle in and stay, an unwanted guest. And not just for her. But not right now. And that's what separated hunters from everyone else.

"We're gonna go see my boss," Adrian said as he climbed into the car and unlocked the doors. "And, just so you know, giving rides," he paused as he realized the double entendre and then plowed through the it because it hadn't been intentional, "to cute girls in my car is not a rare occasion for me but this is the first time I'm bringing one home to meet dad." Dad was said in such a way as to make it clear he was joking, at least about the familial relationship between him and the person they were meeting."Not often that girl has saved my life either," he added, giving credit where it was due.

[Simplicity]

“Yer dad huh?” Sim laughed as she fumbled with her seatbelt, “I’d be more concerned if I was meeting your mom. If that were the case I’d have stayed with the vamps.”

She tucked a section of hair that came loose during the fight behind her ear with a shaky hand. At first she thought she needed a drink, but that wasn’t an option. Then she considering how her hands were jittery on her lap she couldn’t light a cigarette either. She inhaled through her mouth slowly and exhaled through her nose in effort to calm down.

Simplicity let out a nervous laugh and shifted in seat. She blushed slightly looking down at her hands, “Turn abouts fair play I guess. So we don’t owe each other our lives in the servitude or anything.”