Late again.  but to be honest I have been writing a lot of posts at once and then just scheduling them.  T His one is late, but fresh.  So to the point.  I have been trying something different lately and so far so good.  Back in school, like a month ago, I wrote a short story for my fiction class about inter dimensional magical vampires.  It was more of a tell and not show story and was 6000 words.  My plan was to use that for a synopsis for a longer tale.

Thing is when I went to look for it I couldn’t find it…… oops.  So I lost all that.  Now I had to try and recreate the idea from scratch.  It wasn’t too long ago so no real problem, but I did lose a good chunk of a day.  The one thing I wanted to do differently though, and had been thinking about a while was doing a POV approach.  That is with the different chapters following different characters.

Up until now, most of my writing has been third person and following one character.  So a spin is to do various chapters with different characters.  It has been fun thus far.  I also have set a goal of a chapter a day, and five days in I have five chapters and a solid word count.

It’s about setting goals and going with them.  I have had a hard time writing on older projects and being productive each day has literally been a pain in my ass.  This approach has been working and I feel as though I am getting back on par again.  By setting a goal and sticking with it I’m not pushing myself.

I have a nice little outline for the first part of the story and just do it piece by piece.  Once I am done I have a day or so to mull over the next part and how it fits into the overall narrative.  This allows it to stew and integrate any changes that I have made so far.  I still input the things that pop in my head as I write, but also creates a more coherent story.  At leas that’s is what I tell myself.  But it’s working so why not?

So for a treat here is the first chapter, still a little rough, but it works as a stand alone too.

Chapter 1 – The Score

Nelson turned the engine off.  He sat a moment.  He hated this part of town.  He knew he didn’t belong and normally he would just pull up and get what he needed through a simple exchange out of the window on one of the blocks he had passed.  The sad fact was that the police had been cracking down in the last few weeks.  His normal dealer was in the county lock up.  He had managed the last few times to find one of the competitors and get what he needed.  Tonight, he wasn’t as lucky though.

He did know that they liked to hangout at the bar just across from where he was sitting.  There was an occasion or two, maybe even more, where he had to meet his former dealer in the area when he was looking to score outside the normal time.  Since everyone was keeping low because of the increased police presence he thought they would be there.  He knew he would look out of place.  A well-dressed man from the finance world coming down to the run-down area of the city was not the norm.

Nelson sat a few more minutes watching the traffic go in and out of the bar.  He finally got out and crossed the road.  On his way he pointed his keys at the brand-new white BMW and clicked the button.  The alarm engaged and made the sound that they do.  A couple of men out front of the bar smoking looked at the car and then him.  He walked cautiously towards the front door.

His plan was to go in and order a drink or two.  He hoped that someone would approach him, knowing he didn’t belong and maybe offer him what he wanted.  It was a bad plan, but all he had right now.  He didn’t want to just go around asking.  Who knew that they might do if he asked the wrong person the wrong thing?  The door rung when he walked in.  He stopped and looked; it was just a simple bell that was hooked to the top of the door.  Nothing too fancy.

He went up to the bar, “Can I get a Bud Light?”

The bartender just looked at him a minute.  Then reached down into a cooler and handed Nelson the drink.  Nelson handed him a five in return.  He really didn’t like Bud Light, but it was the lowest brand he could think of and he could tolerate it.  He slowly sipped from the bottle as he looked around.  There were a few people in here, not a lot.   The cops must have caused most of the regulars to stay home.

The last time he was out front is looked much busier through the window.  A couple of people he did recognize.  Many other he did not.  He was about to order another beer when he felt a tap on his shoulder.  He turned and saw a man just under six foot looking at him.  Nelson was then met with a smile.  “I take it you aren’t a regular here?” the man said.  Nelson nodded.

The man continued, he was only one of a couple of other white people in the bar, “I assume then that you are looking for something that you can’t find at, shall we saw a higher end outfit?”

Nelson nodded again.

The man looked him up and down for a few moments.  “Your work must be hectic based on the way you’re dressed.  I imagine it blows.”  Then the man winked at him, “I might know how to remedy that, but I for that we’ll need to take this conversation somewhere else.”

Nelson waited for the man’s next move.  He apparently had found someone who was willing to provide what he was looking for.  The man took the glass he was holding and finished whatever it was he was drinking in one gulp, then slammed the glass on the bar, tossed a ten down and walked out of the bar.  Nelson tipped his bottle up, even though it was empty.  After about two minutes, he set it down and exited as well.  As he found his way back onto the sidewalk, he saw the stranger. He walked up to him.

“I have my wares nearby, if you drive, we can be there in a couple of minutes.”

Nelson was nervous but desperate, he nodded, and the two men went to his car and he drove to where he was told.  It was right by another bar, The Shiny Badge.  “Isn’t this a cop bar?” Nelson asked.

“What better place to conduct business, no one would suspect.”  The man got out and went into an alley next to the bar.  There was a lot of noise going on in it, even for the hour.  It was almost two in the morning on a weekday, so the streets were almost empty, if not the bar.  Not a lot of traffic regular or foot was good.  Nelson was sure that no one saw him go into the dark passage after the man.  He was about halfway down the alley behind a dumpster, he was holding up a bag, Nelson moved to him.

“So, what’s your poison?” the stranger asked.

“You were right in the bar, cocaine.”

“Oh, high tastes, I see.  Tell you what, just to put you at ease, I’ll let you have a line right here to know the stuff is top notch.”  He reached into the bag and pulled out a smaller container and handed it to Nelson.

Nelson opened it and saw his beloved addiction.  He dipped his finger in and took a hit, straight up his nose.  The euphoria hit him quickly, “Man that is some good shit.”  He shook a little as it worked its way to his brain.  It had been too long since he had some.  His stash had run out after a tough day at work.  “How much for the whole lot?” he asked.

“Your life,” the stranger replied.

Nelson, still high, looked at the man.  He had a straight face.  The tension was fierce for a second.  Then the stranger smiled.  Nelson, still coming to terms with what the man just said took a moment to start laughing.  Then they both were.  The dealer put the lid back on the container and placed it on the edge of the dumpster.  Nelson was still laughing and moved his hand to wipe his nose.  That was when he accidently knocked the container onto the ground.  He panicked and followed it down.

To his relief it did not spill of open.  He closed his eyes and breathed a moment.  When he opened his eyes, he saw a pair of shoes at the edge of the dumpster, beneath it.  He started to panic again, he followed the shoes to legs and then to a body, then a face, then the eyes.  The empty eyes of a dead man.  He stood quickly forgetting the container.

“Dammit I knew I should have moved that,” the stranger said.

“What’s going on?” Nelson almost screamed.

“I was hoping just a business transaction, but you had to go and find him, so now a double feeding I guess.”

“Feeding?”

“You know I actually like that you found him.  I was planning on just selling his stash to get some money to get out of city, but you look like everything I need.”  He approached Nelson quickly.

Nelson confused and not sure whether to run or scream, then the remembered no one was around.  He quickly ran towards the stranger and elbowed him to one side and ran down the alley away from the road.  He hoped it looped around behind the building.  Then he could make his way to his car and get out of there.  “I am done with drugs if I make it out of here,” he thought to himself as he turned left.

Nelson could see that the alley did turn back towards the road.  As he ran up, he grabbed a stick from a trash can, incase the man went around front.  As the alley was coming to an end, Nelson raised the stick in a defensive manner.  He saw nothing and as he was about to emerge onto the road, he heard a noise from above.  As he glanced up, he saw the stranger coming down.  Nelson fell to the ground.

“Where do you think you are going?” the man laughed as he placed a foot on Nelson’s chest.

Nelson went to hit him with his stick that he managed to hang on too.  The man grabbed it as it was about to make contact and tossed it aside.  Nelson tried to get up.  The stranger wasn’t that much bigger than him, but no matter what or how hard he tried he couldn’t seem to budge the man.

“You are a fighter, though much of a good one.”

The stranger stepped off Nelson, then reached down and pulled him up with one hand.  That is when Nelson saw the fangs.  More than that though.  The stranger opened his mouth as he pulled Nelson towards him and it was normal.  Then fangs grew from his incisors, then they were in his neck.  The pain was quick, then the feeling of life leaving him.  He was tossed to the ground.

Nelson watched as the man went through his pockets, taking everything that he had.  “I like it when you run, the adrenaline adds a little flavor.”  Soon all of his valuables, including the keys to his BMW had been confiscated.  Once that was done the stranger stared at him for what seemed like an eternity.  All Nelson could do was watch; he was too weak to do anything else.

Finally, he was picked up and felt the fangs reenter his flesh.  Soon the last of his life was drained from him and he was tossed again to the ground.  He watched as the man casually walked out of the alley and heard the beep of his car from the alarm being disarmed, then his eyes closed for the final time to eternally stare into oblivion.