Darkness Until Dawn

     Vlad had the most marvelous experience the other day. He flew into a corpse named Bob, from just down the street. He was on his way to Home Freako again - yes, he goes most every week - and the girls were playing Marco Polo. As usual Jess was winning. Sarah was only playing to humor her.      Bob was a businessghoul, first and foremost. He was in the middle of haggling a price for his patent pending formula for Necrolyte chewing slime and his Ryse of the Dead energy drink. When Vlad first hit him, he was quite flappy, almost besides himself. Then Bob gave him some free samples. He could see the potential immediately and wanted to buy in on the spot, so Bob invited him over for some Ryse and finger food.      Bob was set up in an abandoned bungalow four houses down. A charming place, really, he had such a knack for decor. Turns out he shopped at Home Freako as well.      When it came time to get down to guts and jolts,...

    It was just anudder Saturday morning, and Spidey was hard at werk, rigging the old wadder heeder dat di owners ob Spidey's Attick had left behind in their hurry to bacate into a jacuzzi for critters.  Suddenly the stereo began blasting, and Spidey could hear Vlad's voice singing along to Another Saturday Night. Another Saturday night and I ain't got no bodies I've got some Spiders cuz I lost my RAID Now, how I wish I had some blood to drink, too I've fled the light of day. I got in town a century ago I've seen a lot of donors since then If I could bleed 'em I could feast 'em But as yet I haven't bled 'em That's how I'm in the state I'm in Another fella told me He had a ghoul who looked just fine Instead of bein' my dinner She tasted like David Schwimmer The platelets were not appealing. It's hard on a bloodsucker When he's not below the ground If I don't find me a vein That I can most promptly drain I'm gonna h...

Di webbing is tinn on di log. Spidey has launched his arachnoprobes to di outreaches ob di forest. Ebbywhere, amongst di moss and di gwass, di trees and di bush, ebben in di ribber, der are baby recluses, wadder striders, and daddy long legs, wit one mission and one mission ONLY: to explore strange new clearings, to seek out new wildlife and new cibilizations, to boldly go where no Spider has gone before! Spidey, Di Gweat Webber here! My minions are probing di forest, in search of new adbentures and new fwends to help spin new tales. A pew wadder striders in di ribber, a pew baby recluses in di moss. Spidey put on his best carapace. Bwown wit di light stripes. A pew flies in di webbing is bedder den twee in di air, Spidey always say.  Vlad’s up in the trees somewherez, directing his searchbats to provide air cubber. Di old bat has still got some flap in his wingz, and out for blood as usual.  Di air ob the forest is ripe within smell ob mushrooms, moss, and my friendly...

  Vlad's attit a'genn. Taunting di seagulls. Dat bat will nebber lern. 

     Spidey tought dat di bat would lose intewest qwuickly. Apter all, it was a small house, a bunch ob mispits, and not anudder bat nor castle nor cabe.       “I thought it vould look better from the rafters.” A voice echoed from above.      Dat bat. Can’t appweciate a good cobweb. He was looking more awake and he would get this funny look in his eye when he got hungry.      “You know… a few careful torches could really vamp up the place. I was known for my style back in zee Western Wood.” He paused as if for questions. When none came, he continued anyways. “It was quite a majestic place. Uncle Boromir used to be quite fond of telling us stories, so much so that we began to call him Uncle Bor. He never quite figured out vhy. So one day, when he was putting us to sleep with his tales of the crypt - he used to put himself to sleep all the time, let me tell you- we snuck out inbetween bouts of consciousness, and we flew into...

  VLAD! SPIDEY JUST CLEANED DIS FLOOR!

     Spidey a liddle a Noid. Not leggy today.  But di sky is blue and di sun is shining. Tigre's been visiting friends. Spidey be leggy soon. De'll nebber catch me! 

     Spidey di only brown recluse in South Carolina! All Spidey wanted was a Black Widow in di nest, a few flies in di web... but nooooo... dey wanted di perfect arachnid. Di venom isn't poisonous enuff! Di legs too long! Di eyes a liddle fuzzy... one day I'll meet di rite Widow... we'll laff, hab fun, maybe she'll eat me...

Vlad. They're wandering into traffic again. Get Flappy. 

     She's a bit dusty, but Old Vlad only settles for zee best. Zee 1766 model, tricked out with bluetooth speakers and wifi. I stopped by Home Freako just the other day to check on the varnish selection...

Vlad!! STOP AXKING WHERE DI BLOOD STAND IS! Dat Bat. Nebber a dull moment. Spidey just wanted to go to di beach, ride di wabes, but noooooo... der is he is again. He's behind di udder sand dune. UHOH! He saw Fwed. Di seagulls are patrolling di beaches. Der he goes... he's getting flappy... He's got his SPF 50... now he's flying apter anudder blonde. Dat Bat.  Spidey likes di sea shells... sun radder bright, doh.  Uh oh, dey spotted him. He's hiding behind anudder dune. He's covering himself in sunscreen and gull fedders. He's making a break for it! Der's a redhead! Anudder Blonde! Der goes a Brunette! He darts! He Dashes!  Here's a gween wun. Spidey try on. Go for crawl. Fit rite in wit di cwabs. Di wabes... di sand... Maybe Spidey surf. Di shell looks seaworthy. Where is dat bat... ?

For Ashes, life was always about the spark. The hard part was avoiding a wild fire. With the spark, everything was meaningless. But after a wildfire, there is nothing but death remaining. Ashes had seen a few wildfires in his time. In fact, that is how she found him. It had been a day like any other day, back in another lifetime, when he had used a different name and lived a completely different life. Flames of hatred came down on him daily, until they consumed him. When there was just a shell of a person left, he was thrown out of the home he had known and was to never return. So he wandered aimlessly, a broken shell looking for something that broken people can’t find: love, compassion, acceptance. He worked odd jobs and found shelter where he could. It wore on him. Always a different place, low pay, total isolation.  He found himself in a store, staring at the food on display, yet with no coin to buy any. It would be so easy just to take some. He was so very hungry and discourage...

 There was a loud impact not 30 yards off, followed by something or someone crashing through brush and over rough terrain. Then Ashes realized that there was not one, but two creatures hurtling straight towards him, obscured by thicket and trees. As his ears attuned to the chaos, he realized that one was chasing the other, though the front runner moved with agility and much greater speed. At the same time, he heard a loud bird call in the distance, which could only mean that Diamond was moving towards with all haste. For a split second Ashes’ mind went from the runners to Sarah to Jenn and back and forth until suddenly he began breathing again and clarity and context returned to his consciousness.  Eddie burst out of the brush, his tongue lolling despite himself. Jess could be heard whimpering not far behind. For a moment they just stared at each other, Eddie eying the tree line across the road and Ashes too stunned to react.  “Hey there!” a sweet voice called. Eddie and ...

 Sarah was poised, motionless, on a large tree branch near the point where the trail looped back around the perimeter towards the footbridge by the clearing. Her eyes were closed and her brow furrowed in focus as she listened. Above the rustle of the faint breeze she could hear the faint sound of the water moving down the riverbed. Birds called and the occasional squirrel darted about. This is where she belonged, out in the world, losing herself in the flow of time. Her body was like a metronome set to the rhythm of nature. She did not miss a thing. Today she was perfectly in tune. She needed to be. The gang really needed this. The sun was sifting through the trees, the air warm and calm. She smiled as she watched the birds  That’s when she heard the scream.   ©️ 2024, Accountec, LLC

 “I don’t know vhat you see in this stuff.” Vlad said as he sipped a fresh glass of gnat juice. Dat bat. Nebber before had ennyone gotten so far under Spidey’s carapace. He was worse den a can ob Ortho Home Defense. Now he had di nerb to insult Spidey’s specialty beverage.  “I tell you vhat is truly delightful, a nice bottle of A negative with extra platelets. Last time I flew by DI/LO they were having a sale… 4 pint barrels, 2 for a forearm. Vhy, there were undead lining up past the rusted gates. I saw one ripping off an arm near the entrance. It was to live for!” All dis talk about di dead. And nebber enough about DI/LO. Vlad’s eyes just light up when he talks about blood. On and on, di types and di qualities ob di stuff. Drive an arachnid just plain webby. Worse, now der were udders around, the bat tells me. Humans!  “Quite dull around this wooden castle. Reminds me of my uncle Boromir. We used to call him Bor. He never figured out why. You know what hits the spot? A v...

 What I wouldn’t give to be more like Sarah. Don’t get me wrong, being invisible has its perks, but it’s not much use if you’re uncoordinated and trying to track someone through the wilderness. Sarah was so graceful that stealth came naturally to her. She could sneak up on people easily, even pick pockets, all while being perfectly visible. It was hard not to be jealous. I had stopped by every flower on the way here, even picking a few. Flowers, bright colors, and strays were some of my favorite things.  After many broken branches and falls, I was nearing the reservoir on the North side of the preserve. I stopped to take a breath. Sarah had become like a big sister to me. She had such poise and presence, could fly under the radar or command attention as she pleased. Yet she never seemed to need attention, somehow social and independent at the same time. She could easily laugh or be serious on the spot. She had a calm confidence, good intuition, and good instincts. Honestly, sh...

I found them easily enough. In the years after I left home, I spent my time exploring the world. I had been far too sheltered for too long. I wanted to know for myself how the world worked. I know they thought they were helping me by keeping hidden away and presenting a false facade to the world. In the end they could maintain the illusion without my ever being there at all. I made the choice to be real. I made the choice to leave. Was it easier to play along? Definitely. But if you ask me if it was a mistake to leave, I’ll tell you the truth: the mistake was not leaving sooner. So I traveled (by foot) and observed the world. I took a series of odd jobs. It was amazing to truly experience life rather then be instructed on what life was like. I had heard the word “freedom” many times before but never truly knew what it felt like.  I was on my way back one day when I came upon them. It was in the old historic district, a place I sometimes visited when I was homesick. The proud old ma...

 After it bit me, I dropped the gun and started running. I hadn’t run but maybe 20 yards when I had to stop, bending over to welcome back the contents of my stomach. There I was, all sweaty and huffing and trying to stop heaving. My hands shook, and I felt weak in the knees. I looked back. The house was farther then I thought. No sign of the dog or the thing that bit me… or my buddies. I thought maybe I could hear them calling for me, but my heart was pounding so loud that I couldn’t be sure. Then there was the wind and the darkness that obscured so much. I looked up as I panted, to see the moon coming out from behind the clouds. In the distance came a howling.  Suddenly, to my surprise, I joined in. It was a shaky but throaty howl there in the sight of the full moon. I looked down at my paws and did a double take. My knees bent under my weight as I realized that what were once hands were that no longer. I hunched over on my forelegs and ran off into the forest, never looking ...

 I had never been so lost, and of all the places to be lost… the suburbs? A true forest, a true city, either would do. You can prowl urban sprawl as easily as the wild. But this? Far too civilized. Leave it to that crazy cousin Vinny to give me bad information. I couldn’t even get a good view of the moon. One night I even caught myself howling at a street lamp. If anyone saw me I’d never live it down.  I got bitten almost a year ago, and I’ve been on the run since. Me and my buddies were out drinking outside of a small town where I grew up. Someone came up with the fool idea of tryin’ to put down the crazy old mutt that the Rileys owned, but we were all scared of old man Riley and his shotgun. For good reason too. The old man was nearly blind but he was so trigger happy that the Sheriff’s office had been up there maybe half a dozen times to tell him to lay off. The mutt was mean as the devil to everyone but him. So we took it upon ourselves to do a public service, drunk as we ...