Episode 1: The Meeting

Supernaturally Yours

Episode 1

Franz, the vampire, sat on the balcony of his eighth story apartment sipping a mug of warm blood. It was a cool September night in Angel Springs, California. He stared down at the streets below and saw people getting ready for a night of partying, though he didn’t realize that Tuesday night was a great night for partying. He supposed it was a good a night as any to get drunk. He missed those days, back when he was human. He lived for the nights where he would go to the clubs, meet women (and men), and get hammered. How silly it all seemed now.

He could so easily slip back into his old life, how effortless it would be. He could get dressed up in party suits that he used to wear to clubs in New York City and schmooze with the best of them. He could pick up where he left off and once again be the center of attention. He wanted his life to be different here. He want to shut himself away from the social world. He wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city and just fade into the tapestry of the small town.

Franz didn’t tell anyone that he was moving. He just packed all of his clothes into an overnight bag and left his high rise apartment. Everything that tethered him to his old life was left behind. He gave his cell phone to the homeless man who lived outside of his apartment complex. He cashed out his bank account and stuffed it into his overnight bag. He used as many big bills as he could so that he could consolidate space in his bag. He then took a cab to the airport and started at the outgoing flights. He scanned the screens for a destination that sounded like it was as far from NYC as he could get. He found a flight leaving for San Francisco and decided that was where he needed to be. He didn’t want to trade one big city for another, so he decided that he would look for a small town nearby when he landed.

On the flight over to California, Franz researched the cities surrounding San Francisco and thought Angel Springs sounded interesting. He looked up pictures of the area and found it to be the perfect place to start his new life. It was surrounded by woodlands. This would be great to support his “vegetarian” lifestyle; he could hunt the wild animals that lived there. He found an apartment complex he liked and decided to check it out when he got there.

That felt like forever ago for Franz, but it had only been two months. He felt free and he liked it. No one bothered him. He didn’t even know his neighbors. He kept to himself and watched satellite television. He only ventured out to catch his food and a movie. That was what he planned to do tonight. Since it was Tuesday, the movie theatre only charged $1.50 to see second run movies. He hoped to catch the new Die Hard movie. He read that it didn’t do too well, but he was still willing to give it a chance. While he hadn’t seen the first three Die Hard films, he liked the fourth and hoped the fifth would keep that momentum going.

Franz took another sip of his blood and walked inside his apartment. Every piece of furniture was black: sofas, love seat, recliner, coffee table, television, entertainment center, dining room table, the chairs, all of it black. The white walls were covered in paintings that featured the colors red and black that he made himself. He thought it ironic that he tried so hard to separate himself from his previous life, but kept the decor the same as he did when he was in New York. He supposed he needed something familiar.

Franz gulped down the rest of his blood and set the mug in the sink to wash later. He walked into his bedroom and opened his closet. His entire wardrobe was in the color of death. He promised himself that he would eventually get some color into his wardrobe, but he hadn’t had the chance to go shopping for clothes since most of the stores closed when the sun went down. He pushed through his high end dress shirts and slacks. He didn’t own a pair of jeans or a polo shirt. He was an executive banker at a prestigious firm in New York; he made a point to look professional to a T.

He selected the black and white pinstriped dress shirt and found his favorite pair of slacks and put them on. He put on his black socks and black dress shoes. This outfit was perfect for blending into the darkness. He didn’t want to draw any attention to himself. He also didn’t want to get hit by a car should he decide to cross the street in a particularly dark area of town. That’s why he put on his white Tag Heuer watch. The watch said that it was 8:47pm. If he left now, he could make it downtown to the theatre in time for the previews.

Franz walked into his bathroom, which was connected to his bedroom, and checked his hair. He knew that he had no reflection, but it was a force of habit. He ran his fingers through his slicked back blond hair and slapped his face, hoping to bring some color back into his lifeless pale skin.

He left the bedroom and headed into the living room. He grabbed his keys from a small bowl that sat on the breakfast nook. He gave his apartment a glance over to make sure that nothing was out of place. He turned off the lights and left.

He took the elevator to the first floor and exited the complex to the parking lot. He got into his car, a silver Mini Cooper, and drove downtown. The amazing thing about this city was that people knew how to drive here. He never once had to honk his horn because someone was driving like an idiot. He found that he wasn’t having as many instances of road rage here. This place had a calming effect on him.

Franz arrived at the theatre and got a pretty good parking space. He locked his car and walked over to the box office and ordered a ticket for Die Hard 5. He waded through the crowd of senior citizens and teenagers to the concession stand. He ordered a large Dr. Pepper. He loved the smell of popcorn, but since becoming a vampire, he found that he could not digest solid food. It would become lodged in his throat and made it very uncomfortable. He missed popcorn. When he was human, he would get a giant bucket and load it up with so much butter it would leak from the bottom and stain his pants. He lamented the passing of those days. He could still drink things, so he found solace in his Dr. Pepper and sipped happily on his way to theatre 4.

Franz enjoyed the movie thoroughly. He loved the explosions and the excitement; the actor picked to play his son wasn’t half bad looking either. He sucked down the entire Dr. Pepper and needed to pee. He was happy that peeing was something he was still able to do. He didn’t know about anyone else, but he missed defecating. It wasn’t his favorite thing to do when he was alive, but he missed being human. He missed the simple things about human life like the need to expel waste.

After his stop to the restroom, he checked his watch and saw that it was close to 11:30. It was almost time for lunch. He found himself looking at the people that surrounded him and thought about their candidacy as a possible meal. This, too, was a habit he had picked up during his time being a vampire. He fought his instincts to kill and left the theatre with no one knowing how close they came to being fed upon.

Franz sped walked to his car and got in. It was time to make a journey out to the woods to gather his food. Since he moved here, he had started the habit of trapping woodland creatures to drink their blood. This was an idea given to him from another vampire who was tired of hunting humans and having to somehow dispose of the body without implicating himself. He was a lazy vampire with basic knowledge of forensics that he learned from the CSI: series. Franz didn’t want to have to do that in his new life. So he switched to being a ‘vegetarian’ diet.

Franz drove to the woods that were just north of the town. There was a spot that he liked to go to that was just far enough from the path where he could place his traps without them being discovered. He knew that he would have to hide them someplace else in a while because animals were clever.

He arrived at his spot and with his flashlight, he navigated through the trees and brush. He could smell the animals all around him. He hoped that he had caught something because he was hungry. He walked for few more minutes before he came upon his traps. He found that four out of six cages were full. He had caught two rabbits and two squirrels. It wasn’t much, but it was lunch. He carried two of the cages back to his car and then went back for the others. When all of the cages were in the car, Franz shut the trunk of the the Mini Cooper, the creatures chattering to be released.

It was a quick drive back to his apartment. He parked and brought two of the squirrels up to his apartment. He set them on the dining room table. He touched their fuzzy noses before he left to retrieve the the rabbits. He entertained the idea of maybe keeping one of the rabbits as a pet. They weren’t the fluffy pet store variety, but they were cute enough.

Franz got out of the elevator and was greeted by a short, round woman who had squinty eyes, much like Renee Zellweger’s. She looked down at the cages and squealed with delight.

“Pets?” she asked, not minding her own business.

“Dinner,” he replied dramatically. The woman looked shocked and backed away from the elevator. Franz hid a smile as he walked triumphantly to his apartment.

When he opened the door, he heard a crash. He quickly entered and set the rabbit cages on the floor. He shut the door and walked into the dining room. It was there that he found one of the cages broken and mangled on the floor. He scanned the floor for the squirrel, but that was not what he found. On the floor next to the table was a man… a naked man who was pleasantly passed out. Franz wondered how he had gotten in. Had he forgotten to lock the door behind him when he left for the rabbits? None of that mattered now. The question was what to do with this naked man.

***

Rob awoke to the feeling of something poking him in the back. His first thought was that he was that he really needed to pee. With the persistent prodding on his back, he opened his eyes to find that he was face first in carpet.

“I hope you like the taste of that carpet,” a voice from above said.

Rob went to say that he had had better or it was different that what he was used to when he realized that his mouth was full. He sat up and coughed. Acorns and bits of bark fell out of his mouth and onto the beige carpet. What the hell was that about? He stared at it wide eyed and flashed back to what the old witch told him. He didn’t have time to ruminate on it too long because he was poked again, this time on his right arm.

“Knock it off, will ya?” Rob took this minute to look at his aggressor and realized that he didn’t recognize him. He was a tall, pale man wearing all black with slicked back blonde hair. Rob was taken aback. “Who the hell are you?”

“That’s my line,” the man said, looking perturbed. “How did you get in my apartment?”

“Your apartment?” Rob looked around and saw all the black furniture. The room was completely foreign to him. He was not at his girlfriend’s house where he remembered being last. He rubbed his head and tried to make sense of it. “I guess this is your apartment, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Rob lowered his head and found that he was naked as well. “Well, you’ve officially seen the best and the worst of me.” He stood up and faced the man, who immediately stiffened and stepped away. He looked at the dining room table and saw the squirrel cage and sighed. He looked at the floor and saw the wrecked squirrel cage and put the two together; it sounded crazy, but he needed to hear it for himself.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“If you must.”

“Was there a squirrel in this cage? A cute little squirrel like that one?” Rob pointed to the cute little critter. The man nodded his head. “I figured as much. I’m a were-squirrel.”

“You’re a what?”

“I’m a were-squirrel!” Rob repeated, more emphatically. “I thought she was just joking, but she did it. She really did it! She turned me into a squirrel!”

Rob could see on the man’s face that he thought Rob was crazy. He knew it sounded crazy. He couldn’t expect him to believe it either. Judging by the look of him, the man was a hard working waiter at some fancy restaurant near the woods and had an affinity for woodland creatures. There was no way that he would expect him to believe that he could turn into a squirrel.

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt whatever you had going tonight…” Rob extended his hand towards the man. “I’m Rob, naked guy extraordinaire.”

The man looked at his hand cautiously before he set down the broom he had use to poke Rob and shook his hand. “Franz.”

Rob smiled and eagerly shook Franz’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you! I’m so lucky to have been caught in your trap tonight! You seem like a nice guy. Do you collect woodland creatures to tame them and sell them to people on eBay?”

Franz shook his head. “No.”

“Then what?”

Franz hesitated for a moment before answering. “I eat them…” Rob raised an eyebrow. “To be more exact, I drink their blood.” He watched as Rob tried to wrap his mind around this.

Rob felt flush all of the sudden. He thought about what Franz just said and began to sweat. He could have been food for this guy. He could have had his little squirrel neck broke, head ripped off and drained of his precious little squirrel blood. He took a step backward unintentionally and clasped his mildly hairy chest.

“You were going to snap my neck and drink my blood? What are you, a vampire or something?” Rob asked.

“Since you asked…” Franz bared his fangs and hissed. It was contrived, but he realized that this whole conversation was contrived. He saw the color fade from Rob’s equally pale skin. He wasn’t sure if he was enjoying this or not.

“Vampires are real,” Rob whispered and he clutched his neck. He continued to back away until he hit the wall.

Franz rolled his eyes. “Oh, relax. Now that you’re not a squirrel, I have no interest in your neck. I don’t feed on humans anymore. I’m what you call a ‘vegetarian’.” He licked his fangs for show. He was enjoying himself now. He felt his social self beginning to creep back. He always was such the performer when he spoke to people he wanted to impress.

“How do I know that you’re not an omnivore or whatever?” Rob asked.

“I guess you don’t.”

Rob gulped.

Franz decided to lighten up on the theatrics. “No, seriously, I’m not going to bite you. You’re safe now.”

Rob read Franz’s cold blue eyes and was somehow able to see that there was truth behind what he was saying. His heart, which was racing, slowed to a manageable pace. He slid to the floor and sat Indian Style. “Well, that’s a relief. I’ve never met a vampire before. I didn’t even think they were real. Wow… you had me going for a second. What time is it?”

Franz looked at his watch. “12:07.”

Rob began to chuckle. “It’s Wednesday now.”

“Yes.”

“The spell wore off,” Rob laughed some more.

“What spell?”

“The one that the witch cast on me. She said that I would turn into a squirrel on Tuesday. It’s now Wednesday; squirrel time is over!” He wiped the sweat from his brow. “I think I’m going to go tell that witch that I made it and I didn’t get eaten by a vegetarian vampire. I survived my one night as a squirrel.”

Franz saw that Rob was beaming with pride. “What a strange, little man,” he said out loud.

“Well, I should be going.” Rob stood up and headed towards the front door. “Thank you for not eating me. I guess I’ll see you around.”

“You can’t walk around the town with no clothes on,” Franz said. “Hold on. What size are you?”

Rob looked down to inspect his size, but remembered that he wasn’t wearing any pants. “It’s usually much bigger than this… it’s a little cool out. I don’t imagine you’re a size queen.”

Franz rolled his eyes again. “Just wait here.” He went into his bedroom and fished around his closet for an outfit he wasn’t going to mind losing. He selected a black button up shirt that he wore for casual occasions and a pair of slacks that were nearing the end of their usefulness. He pulled them from his closet and entered the living room to find Rob playing with the remaining squirrel.

Franz held the clothes out to him. “Try those on. They might be a little long on you, but this should prevent you from being arrested.”

Rob looked positively touched. He was sure he was going to cry in a minute. He graciously took the clothes and began to put them on. “Thank you very much, Franz. This means so much to me! Me, a complete stranger!”

The pants were a bit snug, but it covered up his bits and for that, Rob was thankful. He put the shirt on and it fit fine. He looked like a waiter from a fancy restaurant in the woodlands. “Now I look like you.”

“Yeah.” Franz said, not exactly sure what to say. He had to admit that Rob did look good in his clothes. Though, he also had to admit that he looked pretty good without clothes as well.

“Should I call you a cab?” Franz asked.

“You’ve done enough with the not sucking my blood and the clothes,” Rob said, patting Franz on the back. “I’ll find my way home. Thank you for everything, Franz.” He smiled and headed to the front door. “I’ll be seeing you around.” He opened the door and left.

Franz stared at the front door and wondered what in the world just happened. He, then, looked at the squirrel in the cage for some support. “You’re not a guy pretending to be a squirrel, are you?” The squirrel stood up and sniffed at him. “No, you’re lunch!” Franz prepared to dig in.

Supernaturally Yours Episode 16: The Total Job

Supernaturally Yours Episode 16

“Well, everything looks to be in order here,” the American Airlines employee said, smiling at the warm reunion. “Thank you for flying American Airlines!” She wandered off to her next destination feeling good that she had helped a child find his parent.

Marvin waited until the woman left before he let go of Franz. “That was pretty good, was it not?” He had a big smile on his face. “I’ve been taking acting lessons.” He looked at Josslyn and Franz and saw that they had shocked looks on their faces. “Oh, I keep forgetting you two have never met me before. Yes, it is I, Large Marvin.” He grew irritated with them and folded his arms. “Yeah, I know, I’m a kid, but only in body! I’m well over 200 years old.”

“I imagined you to be a lot bigger,” Franz said. He had heard rumors that Large Marvin was a balding, fat man that looked a little like Dennis Farina. He wasn’t expecting to see someone who looked like he was a member of the Mickey Mouse Club.

“Yes, the nickname is a misnomer, but it’s good for my image.” Marvin picked up the black duffel bag that had been resting behind him and set it on one of the chairs. “Now, time to get down to brass tacks. Please have a seat.”

Franz and Josslyn sat down in the chairs across the aisle from Marvin. Lemonjello and Orangejello remained standing, so as to protect them from any threats. Marvin got a serious look on his face. It was strange to see a young face look so focused. Franz had to remind himself that Marvin was a dangerous person who could probably snap his neck with a blink of his eye… Or was that a rumor, too?

“Franz, I need you to come back to New York with me.” Marvin saw that Franz was going to interrupt him, so he simply put his index finger up and asked to be able to finish his thought.

“My blood empire is beginning to suffer because my new you isn’t as adept as you in the field of negotiating. You hurt us when you left so abruptly. Things are shaky. I’m not doing nearly the amount of business I used to. The dealers loved talking with you. You knew how to make people feel important. You are the key.” Marvin leaned forward and grinned. “I really need you to get back to work pronto.” Marvin then set his finger down and allowed Franz to say his peace.

Franz knew that he had to act diplomatically. One did not simply tell Marvin ‘no’. He had heard stories about vampires losing their heads because they didn’t follow one of Marvin’s orders. Franz wasn’t sure how he was going to be able to do this and keep his head… Or was it another rumor? Nothing was as it seemed any more.

“Marvin, I appreciate all the nice things you’ve said about me,” Franz started. “And there was a time that I enjoyed working for you, but I changed my mind. I feel that what I was doing was wrong and I didn’t want to be a part of it anymore.” Franz stopped to gauge Marvin’s expression. He couldn’t tell if Marvin was beginning to get irritated or not. Curse your poker face, he thought. Then he hoped that Marvin didn’t hear that. “I no longer wish to be a part of the organization.” Franz thought it would be best to leave it at that.

Marvin, Josslyn, and Franz sat in silence for a minute. No one dared to move or even breathe. Franz looked over at Josslyn and saw that she was trying to read Marvin as well. After a minute, Marvin lowered his head and exhaled. He reached into his duffel bag and pulled out a juice box, fruit punch. He pulled the straw off the back of the box and unwrapped it. With a childlike delight, Marvin poked the straw through the designated hole. He looked up at Franz and Josslyn and sipped happily. He truly looked like a child now. Franz and Josslyn wanted to feel better about this because there was something cute about the whole scene, but then they recalled that this boy controlled whether or not they got to keep their heads.

Marvin finished the juice box and crumpled it in his hands. “Lemonjello, throw this away please.” The hired hand turned around and took the juice box. He looked around for the nearest trash receptacle and journeyed towards it. Marvin returned his attention to Franz, which sent a chill down Franz’s back.

“So, you’re not coming back?” Marvin asked. Franz shook his head. “Are you sure I can’t convince you? More money? More clothes, preferably with some color? Tickets to some sporting event? Your own operation? You name it, you got it.”

“A Jedi craves not these things,” Franz replied.

Marvin sighed and steepled his fingers. “That is most unfortunate. I must say that I’m a little disappointed, but not surprised. I thought that I would let you come back to me of your own volition. Now, I must do something to ensure the profitability of my empire. Josslyn?”

“Yes, sir?” Josslyn knew why she was there.

“Are you ready to do the Total Job?” Marvin asked.

“No problem,” Josslyn replied. She turned to Franz and grinned. “This is going to hurt me more than it’s going to hurt you.”

“Bullshit,” Franz said. “Marvin, don’t do this!”

“I have no choice.” Marvin closed his eyes and looked away.

Josslyn took a hold of Franz’s hands and held them. She looked into Franz’s eyes and saw the fear in them, the betrayal. She squeezed Franz’s hand in an effort to tell him that it was going to be alright. She offered him a smile and a wink.

Franz could feel Josslyn invade his mind, depositing thoughts and ideas. He tried to fight against her and retain control of his mind, but she was strong and forceful. His eyes widened as everything that made him Franz was slowly being replaced by the person that Marvin wanted him to be. With no mental strength left, Franz gave up and faded into the dark corner of his mind.

Josslyn laid Franz’s hands down onto his lap when the job was done. She looked at Marvin and indicated that she had done what he had asked. “He’s ready.”

“Franz, are you ready to go?” Marvin asked.

“Yes, I am,” Franz said. He stood up and offered Marvin his hand. Marvin accepted it and got up from the chair. “I trust you had a pleasant trip.” He smiled at Marvin as he helped pick up Marvin’s duffel bag.

“I sure did,” Marvin said. “But I’m in a big hurry to get back to New York. There’s a deal that I really need negotiated and it could be very profitable.” Marvin patted Franz on the back as they neared the check in line. “I need you on this one.”

“I will do my best,” Franz said.

Josslyn snapped and her henchman followed them to the check in line.

As they stood in line, Josslyn watched as Marvin and Franz had a nice conversation about the logistics of getting blood from humans in the upstate area of New York. She found it creepy how agreeable Franz was. Maybe she had done too good a job on Franz. When the conversation changed to My Little Pony, Josslyn knew that this wasn’t natural. She debated whether she should say something to Marvin before they got to the desk.

“Pinkie Pie is the shit,” Franz said.

“No, no, no! It’s all about Applejack!” Marvin added.

“Franz?” said a familiar voice.

Franz, Marvin, and Josslyn turned to see that Rob and Evan were standing by the check in line. Rob looked heartbroken.

“You’re going with them?” Rob asked. “After everything that happened, you’re leaving?”

“Yes. I have a job to do,” Franz replied. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Rob lowered his head and sighed. “I guess not. Are you going to come back?”

“I don’t think so, Rob.” Franz looked at Rob and smiled. “But don’t you worry. The apartment is paid up for the rest of the year, so you can stay there.” There was a tear running down Franz’s cheek.

“Sure, thanks,” Rob mumbled.

“I’ll see you around,” Franz said. He turned his back to Rob and attempted to continue his conversation about My Little Pony.

Marvin couldn’t help but notice that Franz’s eyes continued to water. The whole thing was rather quite tragic. He had won, but at what cost? A good worker? A good friend? Could he really sit back and pretend that Franz was really happy to be working for him again? Not even Josslyn’s mind wipe was 100% accurate. There was something within Franz that still yearned to be free.

“Josslyn, undo the job.” Marvin lowered his head, defeated.

“Are you sure?” Josslyn asked. Marvin nodded his head. She took Franz’s hands into hers. “Look into my eyes, babe.”

Josslyn looked into Franz’s eyes and saw an emptiness behind them. There wasn’t anything recognizable in his eyes; no fire, no spark, no Franz. This saddened her.

Franz felt the invading thoughts begin to retreat. He was slowly regaining his mental faculties. With a rush of energy, he crept out of the dark corner of his mind and returned to the vampire he once was. He found himself in line to get tickets to New York City. He had to get out of there. Franz looked at Marvin and saw that he was nodding.

“Franz, I must apologize for the thing that I’ve done,” Martin said. “You left the life and it wasn’t fair of us to come and try to drag you back. Isn’t that right, Josslyn?”

“Yeah, whatever,” she said. Josslyn tried to avoid eye contact with Franz, but she was glad that life had returned to his eyes again. “I’m sorry that I did the stuff and things. Go, be free!”

“But what about your empire?” Franz asked.

“They rise and they fall,” Martin said. “Maybe it’s time for my reign to end.”

Franz thought those words betrayed his physical appearance. There was much wisdom in them. Franz got out of the line and rejoined Rob, who hugged him instantly. He looked over at Josslyn, Marvin, Lemonjello, and Orangejello. They looked like an odd group of vampires. He waved goodbye to them. Marvin was the only one who waved back. Josslyn stood there looking conflicted. She didn’t know which emotion to portray: anger, relief, hope, jealousy, love…

Rob, Evan, and Franz started to leave the airport when Marvin called out to them.

“Franz, by the way!” Marvin wriggled by the people behind him in line to run to Franz. “Wait, before you go. The laptop that you used back in New York, I can’t get it unlocked because it needs your password. I’ve tried rebooting it and everything. What’s the password?”

“StrawberryShortcake69. Capital S’s,” Franz said.

“What the hell kind of password is that?” Marvin laughed. It was strange hearing some a mature sounding laugh coming from a child. “Thank you, Franz. Good luck with your new life.” Marvin bowed before he headed back into line with the rest of his gang.

“Well, I guess it’s back to Angel Springs,” Rob said happily. “We’ve got to get you back to work!”

“Actually, I think Franz has the night off,” Evan said. “They didn’t seem to remember that Franz worked there.”

“So I guess I’ll have to apply all over again.” The prospect didn’t sound appealing to Franz, but he did enjoy working at the grocery store. He’d gladly fill out the paperwork again if he had to, but first he just wanted to get out of the airport.

As they walked out, Franz turned to Evan and said, “I don’t think we’ve been introduced. I’m Franz.” He smiled as he extended his hand. He had great hopes for the rest of the evening. 

 

Supernaturally Yours Episode 15: Big Trouble in Little SFO

Supernaturally Yours Episode 15

After what seemed to be hours, Josslyn finally found a parking spot at San Francisco International Airport. She hoped that she had enough time to get herself and Franz through security and onto their flight to New York City. She shut off the van and shouted at Lemonjello and Orangejello to wake up Franz and Rob.

Franz awoke with a slap to the face. He had been dreaming about jumping castles and strawberry shortcake. It had been a while since he had the pleasure of indulging in both. Franz wanted to rub his face, but he found that his hands were tied. He looked next to him and saw that Lemonjello was just getting around to slapping Rob.

Rob had been dreaming about unicorns and beer. He didn’t particularly like unicorns, but he was glad it wasn’t the alien from Alien. That was his recurring nightmare: being chased by dozens of them.

Josslyn opened the sliding door on the side and allowed Lemonjello and Orangejello to leave. “Come on, you guys. Time to go. We’ve got a flight to catch!”

Franz and Rob squirmed their way to the door and carefully stepped out of the van. She smiled to herself as she slid the door closed.

Just as the five of them were about to head to the terminal, a white Honda Civic pulled up to them and stopped. The driver rolled down the window and stuck her head out. “Rob!” she said.

Rob looked at Evan and was instantly glad to see her. “Evan! What are you doing here?”

“Rescuing you!” Evan put the car in park and stepped out of the car, being conscious not to lock herself out of the car. She looked at Josslyn and the two brutes and glared. She pulled out her cell phone and shook it. “I already called 911. They have your location and they will be here in a matter of minutes. You had better release my boyfriend and his roommate.”

Franz turned to Rob and said, “She needs to get out of here before Josslyn does something to her. Tell her to run.”

“Evan, get out of here! It’s not safe!” Rob shouted. Evan looked confused.

Josslyn took this as her cue to work her magic. She popped her knuckles as she approached Evan. “You might want to step back into your car, little miss. This doesn’t concern you.”

Evan could tell that Josslyn meant business, but she refused to back down. She refused to be intimidated. “I know karate, so I think it’s you that’d better step back.” She struck a battle ready stance.

Josslyn raised her hand and tried to think of a fun way to mess with Evan’s mind. Should she regress Evan back to the age of five and make her cry out for her mommy? Or should she play on Evan’s deepest fears and reduce her to a quivering puddle of goo? There were so many options open to her when it came to toying with people’s minds.

Evan stood there and watched as Josslyn continued to draw near. She heard a voice in her head say, “Leave here if you want to see your precious boyfriend again.” She looked at Josslyn and saw that her lips did not move. How is she doing this? “Leave now!” Evan caught herself starting to get back into the car, but as she looked at Rob, she knew that she needed to stay. She fought against the urge and stood her ground.

That girl is doing this, Evan thought. How?

“Leave her alone!” Franz shouted.

Josslyn slowly closed her open hand and acted like she was crushing a soda can.

Evan noticed that he throat was closing; she couldn’t breathe.

Rob asked Franz, “What is she doing to her?”

“She’s trying to choke your girlfriend,” Franz replied sadly.

“No!” Rob shouted. He had to do something fast. He struggled against his binds, but he couldn’t get free. He saw Evan get down on the ground, clutching her neck. “EVAN!” Rob attempted to run to Evan, but Orangejello stopped him. Rob found that he could not match Orangejello’s vampire strength. “Evan.”

Franz knew that only he could do something. He wriggled his hands within the ropes. He had stayed within them just to keep everyone safe, but now Josslyn was doing something unbearable. It was time to end the charade. Franz strained against the ropes and finally broke free. Lemonjello tried to stop Franz from leaving, but Franz merely pushed him out of the way.

He walked over to Josslyn grabbed her by her shoulders and spun her around until they were face to face. “Stop this now! This has gone on long enough. You have me where you want me. Leave everyone else alone.”

Josslyn looked into Franz’s eyes and saw anger and compassion in his eyes. She was reminded why she had fallen in love with Franz in the first place: that fire that burned within, the intensity. Maybe I am going too far. She had only intended Franz to suffer.

“Fine,” Josslyn said coldly. She snapped her fingers and Evan’s throat opened up, allowing air to pass into her lungs. They could hear her gasping for breath.

Rob wished to be by Evan’s side. Orangejello understood and allowed Rob to go to her. He knelt down beside Evan and asked if she was okay. Evan nodded her head as she inhaled deeply.

“Let them go home,” Franz said. “I will go with you willingly.”

Franz and Josslyn stared at each other for a moment. They both remembered how they’d used to do this as lovers. Josslyn very much wanted to relive that moment, but she knew that after the things she had done, Franz would never look at her like that again. She hardened her heart and looked away. “Let’s move,” she commanded.

Josslyn and Franz walked into the airport with the henchman/bodyguards, leaving Evan and Rob alone in the parking lot to recuperate.

***

The airport was busy for this time of night. People rushed through the terminals hoping to get on their flights without having to get randomly searched at security. No one paid Franz and company any attention as they entered through the American Airlines terminal. Josslyn led the way towards the check in counter. She made sure that she had the credit card that was given to her by one of Large Marvin’s handlers. She was relieved that she left Rob behind because she was sure Large Marvin wouldn’t have liked her buying a ticket for an extra person. Rob’s only purpose was to force Franz to go with her. His purpose had been served and was no longer needed.

Josslyn’s hands shook as she got in the line to check in. She hated flying with a passion. She had driven to Angel Springs and would have gladly spent the week it took to get from one side of the country to the other. She knew that whatever Large Marvin had planned for Franz required urgency. She thought, if Franz hadn’t run away, I wouldn’t be here right now facing my greatest fear.

Franz saw how bad Josslyn was doing and felt like he wanted to console her. He felt conflicted by this. Even now, he wished nothing more than to reach out and hold her like he had done so many times before. He knew that he had hurt her when he left and he didn’t regret it, but if things had been different…

“I see you, Franz,” said a voice in Franz’s head. Franz looked around to find the source of the voice, but he couldn’t really see where it was coming from. The surrounding people were going about their business, reading newspapers, checking their watches, reading the list of departures and delays. “You are wearing the pair of dress slacks I bought you on your birthday. Have you lost weight? You look thinner to me.”

“Do I look thinner?” Franz found himself saying out loud. Lemonjello and Orangejello shrugged. Josslyn looked at him and nodded her head, wondering where this was coming from. “Sorry, there’s a voice in my head saying that I look… Never mind. Someone is here, watching me. He knows which pair of pants I’m wearing!”

“Tell Josslyn to get out of line,” the voice commanded. “Tickets will not be necessary.”

“The voice is telling me to get out of line,” Franz said. “We won’t need the tickets.”

“Says who?” Josslyn looked confused and intrigued at the same time.

“Marvin,” Franz said, repeating what he heard. “He’s here.”

Josslyn’s posture straightened. She wondered why Large Marvin wasn’t talking to her telepathically. It chilled her to think that Large Marvin was here in San Francisco. Why didn’t he tell her he was coming?

“Are you going to get out of line or what?” said the impatient, old lady behind them. Franz and the others quickly got out of the line. The people moved up in line, so much closer to the check in counter.

“Now what?” Josslyn asked.

“Excuse me, sir?” A woman wearing an American Airlines uniform walked over to Franz and tapped him on the shoulder. “Hello, sir. If you will follow me, I can reunite you with your son.”

“Son?” Franz asked. “I don’t have a son.” He looked to Josslyn for clarification. She only shrugged.

“He says that you’re his father,” the woman named said. “Follow me.”

Franz and company followed the woman to a seating area that was full of people. The woman led them to a young man who didn’t look over the age of 16. He had short, black hair that was obviously dyed and deep black eyes. He looked almost as pale as Franz. The boy’s wardrobe was also in black. The shirt had ‘Marilyn Manson’ printed in white. The boy wore a tag that read ‘Unaccompanied Minor’. Franz had never seen him before in his life.

The boy’s eyes widened as a smirk crept across his lips. “Daddy! Don’t you remember? It’s me, Marvin! I’m a lot larger than the last time we met!” He leaped forward and hugged Franz around the waist. The boy looked into Franz’s eyes. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Franz.”

Supernaturally Yours Episode 14: Franz’s Choice

Supernaturally Yours Episode 14

It was a beautiful Friday afternoon when Rob met Evan for lunch at A Load of Crepe. Evan had let her golden hair down and was wearing a sky blue blouse and white pants. She was sitting at a table set outside of the crepe shop. She had been reading her kindle when Rob arrived, late as usual. She looked up at Rob, hair messy as always, and smiled.

“Well, it’s about time,” Evan said, closing the cover on her kindle. “I was about to go back home.”

“I’m glad you didn’t!” Rob walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for waiting for me. I couldn’t find where Franz put the keys.”

“Franz?” Evan asked, the first time she had ever heard the name. “Who’s Franz?”

“He’s my new roommate.” Rob stood by the shop’s door and waited for Evan to stand up. “Come on, let’s order!”

Evan considered telling him what she wanted to order and letting him go in and get it, but she feared that he might bungle it all up. She stood up and walked into the shop with Rob following closely behind.

The two of them ordered their banana-strawberry and chocolate crepes and found a table in the nice air conditioned shop. Evan allowed Rob to get a few bites in before she asked him, “So, how did you meet Franz?”

Rob felt the food get caught in his throat mid swallow. He panicked. He didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t a very good liar, but he couldn’t tell her that he was a squirrel caught in one of Franz’s traps. She would laugh in his face. He had to come up with something. The first thing he needed to do was continue swallowing.

Evan looked at him and saw that he was having some trouble. “Oh my god, are you choking? Are you choking? Oh my god!” Rob made some head movements that neither confirmed nor denied that he was choking. Evan took this to mean that he was and stood up from the table. She rushed over to Rob and pulled him out of his chair. She stood behind him, wrapped her arms around him, made her right hand into a fist, braced it with her left hand, and began to push into his abdomen repeatedly. “Spit it out!”

Rob was trying to hold onto his lunch, he paid good money for it. He tried to swallow, but Evan’s pumping forced the food up. Finally, the chunks of banana and strawberry flew from his mouth onto the head of a elderly gentleman before they fell into his plate. The gentleman was confused and then put off.

“I’m sorry,” Rob said. He walked over to the gentleman and picked out the pieces of mostly chewed banana and strawberry from the hazelnut and kiwi crepe and threw them away. He patted the man on the head and rubbed it for good luck. The gentleman was turning red from anger and embarrassment. Sensing it was time to go, he walked back over to his table and sat down.

Evan sat down as well and took a sip of her 7UP. She breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the condensation from her cup. “Well, that was certainly exciting. If you didn’t want to answer the question, all you had to do was say so.” She chuckled at this.

“I met Franz on a hike I was taking on Tuesday,” Rob lied. “We hiked together, like hikers do.”

“All day?” Evan asked. Rob tried to detect any incredulity in her voice. “You were off the map for 24 hours.”

“We were having a really good time,” Rob continued. “You know how guys are.”

Evan raised an eyebrow, but did not challenge this. “What’s he like?”

“He’s a really professional kind of guy.” Rob was feeling better about this line of questioning. “He wears a lot of black dress clothes. He let me borrow some of his clothes that one night.”

“You looked like you were beaten up at a job interview.” Evan laughed loudly.

“Franz is a really nice guy. We’re going to go shopping for clothes.” Rob went to eat his crepe, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to anymore. It looked like it was mocking him for his inability to chew and swallow. “All he has are business clothes. He must have been a lawyer or something. Anyway, he’s letting me stay with him until your mom calls it quits.”

“I’d really like to meet this savior of yours,” Evan said. “I must thank the man who saved my baby from homelessness.”

He almost killed me, Rob thought.

“You just might meet him. He works at the co-op at night.” Rob braved another bite. Just as long as she didn’t ask him anything else that would require him lying, he was okay. “I’m going to drive him to work and hang out there for a while.”

“Do you think I could hang out there, too?” Evan asked.

Rob was going to say that she could, but he remembered that Franz’s ex was planning on being there tonight. The way he described her sounded scary. He didn’t want Evan mixed up in it. He shook his head and wore a grave expression on his face.

“Besides, I won’t be there that long. There’s no need to drive all that way just for a couple of minutes.” Rob reached out and touched her hand. He looked into her eyes and smiled. “I’ll come see you right afterward. We could hang out at the apartment until it’s time to pick up Franz.”

“Then I could meet him?” Evan asked.

“Sure,” Rob said.

Evan seemed satisfied with that and the rest of the meal was pleasant. Rob felt a queasiness in his stomach from having to lie to her. He wasn’t sure if he could stomach his crepe. He made a mental note to tell Franz about it to corroborate his story about how they met should he ever meet Evan. Lies required so much upkeep. He put the thoughts out of his mind and concentrated on having a nice lunch, hoping that this wouldn’t come back to bite him in the ass.

***

Franz pulled into the parking lot of Spike’s Co-Op and found a spot in front of the store. Rob was in the passenger seat fiddling with the air vents on his side. Franz turned off the car, turned to Rob and said, “You don’t have to be here, you know. I can handle Josslyn just fine on my own.”

“I’m sure you can, but I would rather be here so that you know that you have some support.” Rob unbuckled his seat belt and let it zip up the side of the seat. “If you feel a weak moment coming on, you can just look at me and I’ll send you some of my strength.” He reached out and held Franz’s hand. “I’ll even hold your hand.”

“Oh, get off me!” Franz yanked his hand back when Rob began tenderly caressing it. “Thank you, though.” He unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car. He waited until Rob got out before he locked it.

“You parked in the handicap space,” Rob said, looking down at the ground. “You’re probably going to get towed.”

“I’m not going to get towed,” Franz said. There were other handicapped spaces open, they weren’t going to miss one space. “I’ll move it at lunch if anyone throws a fit.” Franz lied, but Rob seemed to be pacified.

The two of then entered the store and found it to be eerily empty. From the two previous times Franz had stepped foot in the store, it had always been empty, but there was something different about tonight. There was something sterile about the air. He held his hand out to stop Rob from walking further into the store.

“What’s up?” Rob asked.

“Something,” Franz replied. “We should get out of here.”

The two of them started to back out, but the double doors slid closed behind them. Franz attributed this to the fact that they were trying to get out the ‘in’ doors. Franz and Rob walked to the other side and tried to exit through the appropriate doors, but they didn’t open. Franz looked up at the doors to see if they were locked. He knew that grocery stores that were open 24 hours sometimes restricted traffic through one set of doors for the night. The doors were locked. Franz reached to the top of the doors to unlocked them, but Rob tugged on his shirt sleeve. Franz turned around and saw that Josslyn was standing behind them.

“Hello, lover,” Josslyn said seductively. She took several steps towards them, causing Franz and Rob to press themselves against the doors. “You weren’t trying to ditch work, were you?” She wagged her finger at him. “I don’t think your boss would appreciate that. He’d tell you that himself, but he’s all tied up at the moment.”

Franz didn’t like her choice of words. He got the sense that his coworkers were in danger. He wanted to get by Josslyn to check on them. He especially wanted to make sure that Libby was alright. His concern was evident on his face because Josslyn started to chuckle.

“Don’t worry, they’re fine.” Josslyn said. “But I thought that this would give you some clarity on the situation that you are in.” She walked over to Franz and held his chin. It was smooth and slightly chilled. For an instant, she imaged what Franz would look like with a beard or a goatee. Poor Franz couldn’t grow facial hair. The hair was nothing more than peach fuzz and it grew in patches.

“Now, I believe that you have something to tell me.” Josslyn touched Franz’s nose as she took a step back.

Franz looked at Rob. Rob gave him a stern face and nodded his head. Franz looked at Josslyn and swallowed. “Joss, I’m not…”

“Now, I want you to really think about what you’re about to say. I mean really think about it.” Josslyn placed her hands on her curvaceous hips and grinned. “The next five minutes hinges on what you’re about to say.” She clapped her hands and looked behind her. Two really buff black guys wearing black tank tops walked down Aisle 3, which housed the soup and the Hispanic foods. The men were carrying black ropes and Franz gasped when he saw that they were attached to people. Black man Number One had Bob Butts and Mikey while Black Man Number Two had Libby and Trevor tied up.

“Franz!” Libby cried out. She looked terrified.

Franz wanted to reach out for her. He wanted to run to her. He knew that Josslyn wouldn’t let him get near them. “What’s your game, Joss? Let them go!”

“That is entirely up to you.” Josslyn walked over to Black Man Number One and groped his arms. “As you can see, my friends Lemonjello and Orangejello have your friends. If you say what I think you’re going to say, then we’ll just pack up and leave.”

“But?” Rob asked.

“But… your friends get to come with us to New York. You know what will happen to them.”

Josslyn smiled some more.

Franz had a pretty good idea. They would be put into a large refrigerator and have their blood siphoned from them over a long period of time. He didn’t want that to happen to his new workmates.

“But if you say ‘yes’, then I’ll have the boys untie them and we’ll catch the next flight out to New York.” Lemonjello got tired of Josslyn groping her and jerked his arm free from her clutches. Josslyn made a pouty face before she returned her attention to Franz. “Though, the girl might make a great addition to Large Marvin’s trophy vampire girlfriends.”

“You leave Libby alone!” Franz shouted. “Leave them out of this!”

Franz knew that this game was rigged. It was disappointing to think that she had gone to such lengths to stoop so low. He had expected so much more from her. He looked at Rob and sighed. There wasn’t any other way out of this situation. He would have to sacrifice himself to save the others.

Rob knew what Franz was thinking and shook his head in response. It’s not worth it, Rob thought. She’s only going to turn on him after she gets him in her claws. Rob was determined that he wasn’t going to let that happen. He reached out and grabbed Franz’s hand.

“You can’t have him, you… really hot chick!” Rob said. “You’ll have to go through me first.”

“Rob, no.” Franz let go of Rob’s hand, but not before gripping it tightly for a moment. “Don’t listen to him. He’s a little squirrel crazy.”

Josslyn looked at the two of them, confused at first, and then amused. “You two make such a great pair. I think I’ll take both of you to New York with me.” She turned to Lemonjello and Orangejello and commanded, “Load them into the van.”

The two henchmen dropped the ropes, walked over to Franz and Rob and punched them in their stomachs. They fell into the henchmen’s hands. Lemonjello and Orangejello picked them up. Josslyn took a pair of keys out of her pocket and walked towards the doors. She tried to reach the top of the doors to unlock them, but she was too short. Lemonjello took the keys from her and unlocked the doors for her. The doors slid open and allowed the cool night air to rush inside. He handed the keys back to Josslyn.

“That’s kidnapping!” Libby shouted.

“What are you going to do about it, sweetie?” Josslyn asked.

“You can bet your ass that we’re going to call the police,” Libby said. She struggled with her bindings to reach her cell phone.

“In about two minutes, you’re not even going to remember Franz.” Josslyn walked over to the tied up employees and took out a Zippo lighter. She ignited the flame and waved it in front of their faces. Their eyes followed the flame. Josslyn was already draining their memories, but the fire was entertaining and she liked to put on a good show. She flipped the lid on the lighter and extinguished the flame. Libby and the others snapped out of their trance. They looked down at their binds and wondered how they came to be there.

Josslyn laughed as she turned her back to them and walked out of the store, leaving the employees to fend for themselves. She saw that Franz and Rob were being loaded into the ominous looking white van. She hastily walked through the parking lot to the van and got into the driver’s seat. She pulled the sun shade down and let the keys fall into her lap. She took the keys and started the van. Lemonjello and Orangejello closed the back door and raced around to the passenger side and hopped in. As the side door slid closed, Josslyn drove out of the parking lot, letting the wheels squeal, and the rubber burn.

Evan, who had watched the whole thing hidden in the back seat of her car, pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911. She waited until she was sure that the van was gone before she stepped outside. She walked towards the grocery store and saw that the employees were tied up inside. The line continued to ring before the other end finally picked up.

“Thank you for call 911, could you please hold?” Then there was the sound of muzak being played. It appeared to be a lullaby rendition of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. Evan knew that this was going to be a long night.

Supernaturally Yours Episode 13: The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

Supernaturally Yours Episode 13

 

Rob awoke to the sound of the front door slamming. He didn’t know what time it was and felt a little disoriented. It was hard getting used to sleeping in someone else’s bed. He slipped out of Franz’s bed and walked into the living room. There he found Franz standing in the kitchen looking for anything to put in a box.

“Franz, you look amped! What is going on?” Rob asked.

“Rob!” Franz rushed over to him and shook him by the shoulders. “Did a woman come here tonight looking for me?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Rob replied.

Franz stopped shaking him. Franz realized that if Josslyn had come, she would have made it so that Rob wouldn’t remember he saw her. That was probably how Josslyn knew to look for Franz at the store. The bigger question was, how did she find him in the first place?

Rob saw the concerned look on Franz’s face and asked, “What’s this about? How was your first night at the store?”

“It was great until Josslyn showed up.” Franz went back into the kitchen and started looking through the drawers for something to pack. He didn’t have any silverware or plates or other kitchen items because he left them all in New York.

“Who’s Josslyn?”

“My ex girlfriend,” Franz replied.

“Gross.”

Franz agreed. He walked out of the kitchen and stared at the furniture in the living room. He would need help deconstructing the furniture if he wanted to take it with him to the Czech Republic. Is that where he was going? Why not? The weather is always nice there, or so he had heard from some article he read. Franz decided to just leave the furniture here. Czech furniture had to be better than what he had.

Rob stepped in front of Franz and hugged him. “You look awful, man. Why don’t you sit down and tell me all about it?”

Franz wanted to tell Rob that he didn’t have the time, but he felt lightheaded. Maybe sitting down is a good idea. He followed Rob to the couch and sat down. He had been on his feet all night. It felt good to be off of them for a bit.

“Now start at the beginning,” Rob said.

That was what Franz did. He told Rob about his past and how he got involved with Large Marvin just after he had been turned into a vampire. He told Rob about the blood farming and trafficking business and how much money he made. Franz continually looked for any signs that Rob might be judging him on Rob’s face, but Franz didn’t see any.

“So, now Josslyn is trying to get you to go back to New York?” Rob asked when Franz was done explaining. “That’s rough, dude. That kind of life must have been hard on you.”

“The money made it worth it,” Franz said. “I had the best of everything! The best cars, the best suits, the best women. All of it was mine. Then I ran into a human rights group led by a couple of vampires that opened my eyes to the damage I was doing. I decided that I wouldn’t take part in it anymore. So I packed my clothes and left New York. I moved here hoping that I could just start over.”

“And you’ve done a good job,” Rob said, placing his hand on Franz’s knee. “But are you really going to let Large Marvin and his goons get you all worked up? You’re a grown ass man. You don’t have to do what anyone says.” Rob smiled and shook Franz’s knee as he said this. “You can tell Large Marvin and this Josslyn chick that they can sit on it and spin!” Rob lifted his middle finger in solidarity.

“You’re right, I shouldn’t let them upset me so much,” Franz said.

“So, you’re not moving, right?” Rob asked, placing his hands on Franz’s shoulders. He looked into Franz’s eyes and waited for a response. When he didn’t get one right away, he repeated himself. “Right?”

Franz slowly nodded his head. “Right.”

“That a boy!” Rob patted Franz on the shoulders. Rob was glad to hear it because he didn’t know where else he could stay if Franz up and left. There was no way he could afford this apartment on his own.

“Now, the next thing to do is to tell Large Marvin and Josslyn that your decision is final.” He saw the worried look on Franz’s face. “If you want, I’ll be there with you. I’ll be in your corner cheering you on! Don’t expect me to wear a skimpy school uniform, though. You’re on your own for that.” Franz smiled. “Yeah, buddy! Now why don’t you go to bed. Everything will be better when you wake up tomorrow.”

Franz got up from the couch and walked towards his bedroom. It was evident that Rob had been sleeping in his bed, but he was too tired to care. Franz made a mental note to tell Rob that he’s not allowed in Franz’s bed. He closed the door behind him and didn’t bother taking his clothes off before he went to bed. He closed his eyes and prayed that everything would go as smoothly as Rob said.

***

Josslyn slid in the key to her hotel room. Holiday Inns weren’t one of her favorite hotels, but she supposed that it was better than Motel 6. She wondered what the difference was between a hotel and a motel. Both of them were places people went to either sleep or have loud and awkward sex. She closed the door and turned on the light. The queen sized bed looked inviting. It had been a long night. The entire trip had been long. It took a week of night driving from New York to get to Angel Springs. She knew that she could have easily flown there, but she didn’t like the idea of dropping out of the sky like a rock should a pigeon suddenly get sucked into one of the engines. She figured she’d save gravity the trouble and remain close to the ground.

She took her clothes off, down to her bra and underwear. She walked around the room humming to herself, feeling free. After spinning around, pirouetting, she slowed herself and walked over to the window. She opened the curtains and saw that the sky was purple. The sun was rising. Fortunately, her room faced west, so the sun’s rays wouldn’t affect her. She had specifically requested a west facing room. The hostess at the front desk thought this was a strange request, but she obliged. This wasn’t by far the strangest request she had ever heard.

Josslyn closed the curtain and turned to get into bed. Standing on the other side of the bed was a small black figure. It had big yellow eyes that glowed. Josslyn shrieked and clutched her breasts. The small black figure was startled and placed its hands in the air.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” said the figure with a low voice. “I meant to say something earlier, but then you started getting naked and then dancing around… I didn’t know what else to do. You looked so happy!” He cowered as Josslyn threw pillows at him.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Josslyn yelled. “Haven’t you heard of knocking? Dammit, Seth.”

Seth, a three foot tall demon, bowed apologetically. “I’m sorry, Joss. I just thought I’d show up now before you started doing other questionable things.”

“Well, what do you want?”

“I come bearing a message from Large Marvin,” Seth said, blinking to avoid staring. “Large Marvin misses you.”

Josslyn slumped her shoulders. “Really, that’s it? You scared the shit out of me for that?” She wished that she had more pillows to throw.

“He said something about Franz…” Seth was having a hard time remembering it because he was trying so hard not to stare at Josslyn’s breasts. She caught on to this and she made him turn his back to her. “Umm, yes… Large Marvin is very pleased that you have found Franz. He requests immediate extradition.”

“Well, duh,” Josslyn replied. “I gave him a choice to either come quietly or we’ll take him in pieces.”

Seth spun around in urgency. “You shouldn’t have given him a choice! Marvin needs him on board now!” Josslyn signaled to him that he needed to turn around again. He tried to get one good peek before he acquiesced.

“Not to worry, little one. He’ll come aboard.” Josslyn grinned. “If I know him, he’s probably debating whether he should pack for New York or the Czech Republic. In the end, he’ll come around.”

“Are you going to use your mind control on him?” Seth asked.

“If I have to.”

“Marvin requests that you do the total job on him if he resists.” Seth’s deep voice suited the order. It flowed coolly off his evil tongue.

“The total job?” Josslyn asked, sounding confused. “He wants me to sleep with him?”

Seth clicked his tongue in frustration and turned around. “No! He wants you to fry his brain and bring him in!”

“Oh! That makes sense…” Josslyn hit herself on the forehead, though she would have been down to sleep with him.

“Are you prepared to do this? Large Marvin understands if you couldn’t do it. He is your boyfriend after all.” Seth steepled his long black fingers as he pondered Josslyn’s expressions of indignation and anger.

“Ex-boyfriend,” Josslyn hissed. “He left me.”

“That must have been so hard for you,” Seth said, trying to sound sympathetic, but his evil voice didn’t lend itself to sympathy.

“Oh, I can do it.” Josslyn snapped her fingers at Seth. He took this to be his cue to turn around. “Tell Large Marvin that I’ll have Franz ready for the red eye flight tomorrow night. Be ready for him at the airport.”

“Of course.”

Josslyn and Seth stood there awkwardly for a minute before Josslyn said, “You can go now.”

“Fine. By the way, leopard print bras are slutty. No judgment.” Seth dissolved away into the floor.

Josslyn waited for a few minutes just to make sure he was gone before she switched off the lights. She collected the pillows from the floor and went to bed. Seth had gotten her pretty upset, making her think of how Franz left her. She had so much resentment towards him. Any reservations she had about doing the total job on Franz were now a distant thought. She closed her eyes and visualized her victory. Franz wouldn’t know what hit him.

Supernaturally Yours Episode 12: Paranoid Vampire

Supernaturally Yours Episode 12

Franz’s shift ended at 4 a.m. Bob Butts asked Franz how his first shift was. Franz lied and said that it was a great first day, but the truth was he was plagued with thoughts of Josslyn. How had she found him? He was sure that he had eliminated any trail he might have left, not that he had a history of erasing trails. Franz was more sure that he had done the best he could, but it wasn’t good enough. Now, he had Josslyn and Large Marvin to worry about. Perfect.

What am I going to do? Can I really pack it all up and move back to New York? No… I can’t go back to the way I was. Franz thought about his time in New York City and remembered what it felt like to be a blood trafficker. He thought about the cruel things he had to do acquire the blood. He was ruthless, he was mean, he was a killer. The memories caused him to be sick to his stomach. He wanted to throw up and spew the memories out with the bile. He knew that wasn’t possible.

After promising Bob that he’d come back tomorrow night, he left the store. The sky was still dark, just the way Franz had planned it. He had bargained with Bob to let him end his shift two hours early so that he could make it home before the sun came up. Bob was just thrilled to have someone who actually wanted to work that he acquiesced to all of Franz’s demands, which were very few.

Franz walked to his car in the mostly empty parking lot. He looked around for any sign of Josslyn. Would she be waiting for him to get off work to pester him some more? He supposed she had said what she came to say and left. There was no need to hang around.

Franz unlocked the car and he got inside. He ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath. He hated how shook up he was by Josslyn’s sudden appearance. He tried to think of ways he could stand up to her and tell her he wasn’t moving to New York. But I could move again, couldn’t I? This time, I’ll move overseas. Franz briefly entertained the idea of living in Spain or the Czech Republic. He had lots of money so he could live like a king. Then, Franz started to despair. He was living in a modest one bedroom apartment in a small town in California and Josslyn was still able to find him. If he lived extravagantly in Spain, he would only make himself a bigger target. Franz wondered if there was a hole in a mountain he could hide in.

“This is ridiculous!” Franz said, hitting his steering wheel. “I will not cower!” He was angry with himself for even suggesting living in the mountains like Maria Von Trapp. He resolved himself to stand up to Josslyn and if he had to, Large Marvin, and tell them to leave him alone. He just hoped that he wouldn’t end up with a stake in his heart.

Franz started the car and backed out of his parking space. He put the car in drive and rode out of the parking lot. He was thinking about what he’d say to Josslyn tomorrow. He imagined himself wearing a tuxedo sipping on a martini (that was shaken, not stirred) in a hip night club of some kind. He was talking to some attractive young woman who was drawn in by his sheer sexual magnetism. Just as he was about to deliver a witty punchline to a well told joke, Josslyn entered wearing a sequined red dress that shaped her well. She gave him an icy, yet inviting stare. Franz held his finger to his lips and told the woman to wait for him back at the room he had rented just above the club. He slipped her the key and sent the woman on her way. Then he moseyed his way across the club over to Josslyn. He gave her a wicked smile and said, “What’s up?”

“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” she said.

“Just having a bit of fun, Joss,” Franz said, raising an eyebrow. “Just like we used to.”

“Spare me the walk down Memory Lane,” she scoffed. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I’m incredibly well hung,” Franz joked.

Josslyn would roll her eyes and fold her arms, a cigarette dangling between her fingers. “No, I meant what’s it going to be?”

“I’m stayin’ here, sweetheart.” He gave her a wink. “So you and Large Marvin can sit on this and swivel.” Franz held up his middle finger and whistled.

Franz looked at his watch and realized that the woman he sent up to his room was probably bored. He found that women didn’t like to be kept waiting. He pulled out sunglasses and put them on as he made his way out of the night club. He heard Josslyn shouting that he wasn’t going to get away with it. He flashed her the rebellious middle finger just before the front door closed behind him. He would spend the rest of the night making love to the beautiful woman upstairs. He didn’t remember her name- Tammy? Tawny? It didn’t matter. She’d know what his name was by the end of the night.

Franz drove through the town streets as he got caught up in the world of his own imagination. He was so enraptured by his daydream that he failed to stop at a stop sign and drove through the intersection. He heard the sound of a car honking and he immediately honked back, not fully realizing what was happening. When he finally stopped the car, another car drove inches from his front bumper. It honked at him angrily. Franz collected himself and tried to catch his breath.

“Holy shit,” Franz said between breaths. “That was really close.”

A bright light shone from behind Franz’s car. Franz looked in the rear view mirror and saw that the light belonged to the car behind him. He tilted the mirror so that the light didn’t blind him. When Franz was ready, he drove through the intersection with a promise to pay better attention to the road and not his daydreams.

At first, Franz didn’t pay too much attention to the car behind him. This changed when he turned onto the street where his apartment was located. The car was following him very closely, almost right up his tailpipe. The driver flashed their brights. Franz pondered what the car wanted from him. Franz merged into right hand lane in the chance that the person wanted to pass him. The mysterious car only merged into right lane behind him.

When this happened, Franz immediately thought that this was Large Marvin’s men chasing him. Josslyn gave him the impression that he had some time to think about this, but that was obviously a lie.

He pressed his foot on the accelerator and sped down the road. He raced through the green lights in the hope that they would yellow just after he passed through. The next light he approached turned yellow. Franz continued through the intersection, The light turned red. “Ha! Take that!” Franz said.

This celebration was short lived. The car behind him didn’t stop at the light. The breezed through the light with no thought of consequences.

“Oh, come on!” Franz hit his steering wheel. “Where’s a cop when you need one?”

Franz was running out of options. He could only go so fast before he either crashed or got pulled over by the police. Maybe getting the police involved would scare Large Marvin’s men off. Then Franz thought that Large Marvin’s men wouldn’t be afraid of the police.

Franz took a deep breath and decided that there was no running away from this problem. He turned on his right blinker and pulled into a shopping plaza. It was ill lit and empty. Franz was beginning to regret this decision. He turned his car off and waited. The black car pulled into the parking lot and parked right next to Franz. He fought the urge to get out of the car and run. He just sat still and waited for someone to get out of the car.

Franz didn’t have to wait very long. The passenger side door opened and a tall man with slicked back, black hair into a ponytail and wearing a long, black trenchcoat got out of the car. He was wearing sunglasses. Franz wondered if the man was a vampire… otherwise, why else would he be wearing Ray Bans?

The man tapped on Franz’s window and made the gesture that he wished Franz to lower the window. Franz checked the man for a gun. He could only see the man from the midsection up. The gun could be well obscured. Franz forgot the fact that guns wouldn’t do much in the way of killing him now that he was a vampire, but there was still the inconvenience of being shot.

Because Franz had power windows, he turned the car back on to roll down the window. The man leaned his head into the space and grinned.

“Hello, sir,” the man said, his breath stinking of a freshly smoked cigarette. “You’re probably wondering why we pulled you over.”

“You’re one of Large Marvin’s goons, aren’t you?” Franz asked angrily. “Come to whack me off, have you? Well, have at it! Get it over with!”

The man winced when he heard the phrase ‘whack me off’. He took his sunglasses off and looked at Franz earnestly. “Uh, I’m not here to whack you off. I’m just here to tell you that your brake lights are out. We almost hit you back there and we thought you were an asshole until we saw that your lights are out. Sorry to freak you out.”

Franz felt embarrassed and relieved at the same time. He wasn’t going to be snuffed out- or at least not now. He wished that he had sunglasses to hide his shame.

“Oh… thank you very much,” Franz said. “I’ll make sure I get them checked out.”

The man put his sunglasses on and got back into his car. Franz could hear him tell the driver that Franz had thought he was going to get whacked off. The car door closed before Franz could hear the riotous laughter. Their car started and drove out of the parking lot.

Franz continued to sit in the parking lot. He wished that he could have melted into the car seat, that was how embarrassed he felt. His paranoia knew no bounds. He had a right to be paranoid, right? Large Marvin was not to be trifled with. He had less at than 24 hours to make a plan. His first step was to not get arrested for not having brake lights. He raised the windows and drove out of the parking lot, just hoping to get home before the cops pulled him over.

 

Supernaturally Yours Episode 11: The Franz Ultimatum

Supernaturally Yours Episode 11

This can’t be, Franz thought. There’s no way that she could be standing here in front of me. He reached out and touched the impossible woman. Her solid shoulder impressed upon Franz that this vision was, in fact, real. He recoiled and stumbled backward, stepping in the dried, crusty vomit by Register 3.

“You can’t be real,” Franz muttered.

“I am very real,” the woman said.

“Josslyn, what the hell are you doing here?” Franz’s mouth suddenly went dry, as if the mere mention of her name caused it to be. “How did you find me?”

“A little birdy told me that I would be able to find you here,” Josslyn said with a smirk. “Nice place, Angel Springs. I can see the appeal. Small town where no one knows your name; it’s quaint.”

Franz folded his bare arms and felt the burning sensation quickly travel to them. “What have you done to me?”

“You remember the Sythos Curse. It’s my just my way of saying hello.” Josslyn waved. “Hello.”

“I want you to take this curse off of me and go back to New York.” Franz glared at her and hoped that this would convince her to leave him alone. He could tell by the amused look on Josslyn’s face that she planned on doing the exact opposite. “I’m serious.”

“I know you are, sugar.” Josslyn reached up and touched Franz’s face, like she had done so many times before. “I’m not going anywhere, not without you. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

With the touch of her hand, Franz could feel his fear and anger start to fade away. He was getting comfortable and felt that he didn’t want to ever leave this spot. He reached up and grabbed her hand and held it. Franz tightly squeezed the hand and tore it away from his face, the anger returned.

“You can’t work your magic on me, Joss,” Franz said firmly. “I’m immune to your charms.”

“Not as much as you’d like to think.” Josslyn regained control of her hand and caressed it with the other, savoring Franz’s once gentle touch.

“Franz, what’s going on?” Libby had returned with the mop. She saw that Franz had his shirt off and she was confused by the markings that were all over his torso. They hadn’t been there when she left. “What happened to you?”

Josslyn spun around and smiled at Libby. “Oh, hello pretty,” she said. “Would you be a dear and give us a little time? In fact, there’s someone on aisle 7 that needs your assistance.”

Libby’s turned to aisle 7 and then back to Franz. “Here, you clean the vomit up and I’ll go see about the customer.” Libby handed Franz the mop and headed to aisle 7.

“There’s no one in aisle 7,” Franz said.

“Oh, she won’t know that,” Josslyn replied. “Now, you and I have unfinished business. You’ve been a naughty boy, Franzie. You left me all alone in New York. I woke up one night and you were gone. What the hell?”

“I needed to get away,” Franz said, suddenly feeling the guilt that he denied himself for two months.

“Then take a vacation! Book a cruise to the Bahamas!” Josslyn had raised her voice. “No, you decided to just pack up and leave. No warning. No note. Just gone.” Tears were starting to form in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Franz said.

Josslyn’s face contorted with anger. She slapped Franz hard on his face. Her hand stung as she raised it for another slap. Franz caught her hand and held it.

“You fucking coward,” Josslyn hissed.

“It was wrong of me to leave you the way I did, but I needed a lifestyle change.” Franz gauged whether it would be safe for him to relinquish control of Josslyn’s hand. There was much anger in her eyes, but he could sense that he could let her go. He slowly released his grip and Josslyn retracted her hand. “You need to go.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me you’re coming home,” Josslyn said.

“I’m not going back to New York. I have a life here!”

“You, working at a grocery store?” Josslyn asked, looking around. The thought of him working in grocery store amused her. The Franz she knew would not have stooped so low. “How the mighty hath fallen.”

“I’m not leaving Angel Springs.”

“Then I’m not leaving either.” Josslyn crossed her arms and stared at Franz, daring him to challenge her.

Franz saw that he was at an impasse. Once Josslyn got an idea in her mind, she was difficult to dissuade. He knew that she was not going to leave the store on her own. He would need back up. Franz looked at the phone behind the register station. He could call security and have her escorted off the premises. That would only put more people in danger, Franz thought. He knew that Josslyn would be able to charm her way out of a sticky situation with her powers of mind alteration. She also possessed immense strength; no one would be able to forcibly remove her.

Franz knew that only his word that he would return to New York City with her would make Josslyn leave. He didn’t want to lie to her. He used to be that kind of person, but he had worked hard to become the man he was now: an honest grocery store clerk.

“I need some time to think about this,” Franz said.

Josslyn raised her eyebrows and smiled. “I figured you’d try to buy a little time. You have 24 hours to decide.”

“And if I decide that I don’t want to go?”

“Then you’ll have to deal with Large Marvin.” Josslyn watched the look of concern form on Franz’s face. “He’s prepared to board the first plane out here and bring you back… though, it might be in pieces.”

Franz gulped. Marvin, or Large Marvin as the underground vampire community called him, was a big shot vampire that operated the largest organic blood cartel operation in New York. Right after Franz became a vampire, he and Josslyn went to work for Large Marvin. Since Franz was already in the banking community, he worked in blood financing. He helped negotiate the blood prices to underground blood companies and handle the exchanges. Franz took a big risk when he left New York City. He was naive to think that Large Marvin wouldn’t send someone to find him. He supposed it was only a matter of time.

Josslyn tapped Franz on his left cheek and chuckled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, lover.” She gave his face one final tap and turned her back to him.

As he watched her leave, he called out to her. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Josslyn stopped and snapped her fingers. Instantly, the black marks on Franz’s torso faded away and the itching and burning stopped. When she heard Franz breathe a sigh of relief, she continued her journey out of the store.

Franz wondered what he was going to do. He felt that he needed to go home and possibly pack. He didn’t want to leave his first night at his new job. He looked and saw that Libby was coming back. She looked very confused.

“Did you see that guy in aisle 7 leave?” Libby asked. “I was talking to him about where he could find foot cream for his corns and then all of a sudden he was gone.”

Franz surmised that Josslyn had stopped creating the illusion once her message had been delivered. It was eerie how powerful she was. He was also jealous because she had super powers and he didn’t seem to have any.

“I didn’t see anyone there,” Franz said.

“Who was that weird chick anyway?” Libby asked, looking for Josslyn.

“She’s my ex,” Franz replied.

“Oh,” was Libby’s only response. She saw that Franz looked torn up by the encounter and thought that maybe he needed some time alone. “Well, I’m going to go see if Bob needs us to do anything else. I’ll be in the break room if you need me.” Libby walked away wanting to tell him that he was standing in a puddle of vomit, but she supposed he would figure that out himself. For now, she left him standing shirtless in the front of the store, contemplating his next move.

 

 

Supernaturally Yours Episode 10: Supermarket Sweep

Supernaturally Yours Episode 10

 

“Folks, I want to introduce you to our new overnight stocker, Franz!” Bob Butts and Franz stood in front of three of the store’s employees (Mikey, Trevor, and Libby) in the produce section of the store. Bob placed one of his large hands on Franz’s left shoulder. Franz looked at it, for it was misplaced, but Bob didn’t seem to notice. “He’s starting tonight, so I want everyone to be especially nice to him. Who wants to train him?”

“1-2-3 not it!” Mikey quickly put his finger on his nose. Trevor put his finger on his nose just as swiftly. Libby was the last one to catch on.

“Libby, you win the pleasure of training dear Franz,” Bob said. He patted Franz on the shoulder; it was not gentle. “If you have any questions, Libby here will answer them for you. If she can’t answer them, come find me… but seriously, don’t find me.” He gave Franz a hard smack on the back. “Go forth and learn the Spike’s Way! Have a good night!” Bob turned and escaped to the general manager’s office where he would ensconce himself in paperwork that he was behind on.

“Have fun,” Mikey said. He and Trevor made their way to the break room in the back.

Libby rolled her eyes at them as she flipped them off. “Don’t mind them. They’re utterly useless. Bob would fire them, but no one else is dumb enough to apply here.” She looked at Franz and grinned. “Present company excluded, of course.”

“Of course,” Franz repeated.

The two of them stared at each other for a bit until the water spritzers started to spray the vegetables beneath them. Since they were uncomfortably close the spritzers, Franz and Libby moved away from them, giggling to themselves about it.

“So, hi, I’m Libby.” She extended her hand towards Franz. “I will be your hostess with the mostest. Welcome to Spike’s Co-op! You’ve probably shopped here before so you’re probably familiar with the layout of the store.”

“Actually, I don’t grocery shop anymore,” Franz said, sadly.

“At all?”

“Nope.”

“What? Why?”

“My diet has changed somewhat…” Franz left it at that. What she didn’t know was that Franz was an exemplary cook. When he lived in New York, he would cook the most elaborate meals for his dinner parties. Everyone usually loved what he made. He would watch the Food Network, gather recipes from Rachael Ray, and then make them better. He enjoyed grocery shopping, but since becoming a vampire, the need to shop for groceries was replaced with the need to kill. It saddened him that he could no longer enjoy the dishes he yearned to cook. This train of thought eventually led to the fact that he could no longer poop and this devastated him greatly.

Libby saw the sadness on his face and decided to keep it light, keep it happy… “So, I guess I’ll show you around the store. Please follow me and stay with the tour. Keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times.” She laughed at her little joke and pointed to the wet vegetables. “This is the produce section…”

Franz found himself smiling at her. He knew instantly that he was going to like her. As he looked her up and down, he ranked her an 8 out of 10. She was no taller than five foot eight. She had short brown hair that was styled not unlike Jennifer Aniston’s during sixth season of Friends. Not that he fixated there, but he couldn’t help but notice her C sized breasts that were shaped nicely in her purple Spike’s Co-op polo shirt. She wasn’t unfortunate looking.

“Franz!”

“Parakeets!” Franz said.

“I’m sorry, the answer must be in the form of a question.”

“What are parakeets?”

“You haven’t heard a single word I said, have you?”

Franz shook his head, not to answer her question, but to shake the muddiness from his mind. He found himself standing in front of the seafood section. There was a tank of lobsters nearby and Libby was resting on it. Franz vaguely remembered her saying something that sounded like a question, but he couldn’t recall what it was. Was he staring at her butt? How embarrassing!

“I may have been looking at something else,” Franz admitted.

“Told you not to get too attached the lobsters,” Libby said, placing her hands on her ample hips. “Then I asked you what you would name this lobster.” She tapped on the glass. The three lobsters raised their rubber banded claws in protest. “Then you proceeded to stare at my butt.”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!”Franz face palmed and wondered if his face was turning red. No color flooded his pale, white cheeks.

“See, I was just joking about the butt part, but now I know you were looking at it. Gotcha!” Libby winked at him. Franz felt even more embarrassed. “Whatever, I don’t blame you. I have been blessed with God’s gift.”

“You must be so proud,” Franz said, pushing through his embarrassment. Libby nodded her head. “So, now what?”

“I continue the tour,” Libby replied.

Libby took Franz around the store and told him a little bit about each section. Franz tried his best to pay attention and asked questions when he had them. Libby answered them, always with a joke. Franz admired that about her.

At the end of the tour, they ended up back at the produce section. The spritzers had turned off by that point. Libby raised her hands and said, “Ta-da! Back where we started.”

“Excellent! When’s recess?” Franz asked.

“Oh, honey, we ain’t got no recess,” Libby said. “Stay right there, I’m going to see what Bob wants us to do next.” She turned around and walked into the back of the store.

Franz was having a really good time. He knew that he was going to enjoy working at the co-op if he had Libby by his side. If someone had told him three days ago that he would be working at a grocery store and enjoy it, he would have laughed at them, hard, in their faces… but here he was, having the time of his afterlife.

Franz turned to look at the vegetables and stared at the spritzers. They were probably due to turn back on soon. He wondered if he could turn them on with his mind. He focused his energy on the spritzers, willing them to turn on. The spritzers fought him and mocked his power. After a minute, Franz realized that they weren’t going to turn on for him. He released his focus and sighed. Great, another super power I don’t have, he thought.

It had been a few minutes since Libby had left him. He was wondering what was keeping her. That was when he felt it, a tingling sensation down the middle of his back. It burned more than tingled. Franz reached behind him to feel for anything that might have been crawling on him. He didn’t feel anything there. He spun around trying to catch a glimpse of anything. He continued to spin, causing him to look like a dog chasing its tail. This was when Libby came back in with two brooms.

“Funny, my dog Monroe does that same thing,” Libby said.

Franz stopped and looked at her. Again, he was embarrassed. “I think there’s something on my back! Can you check?”

Libby walked over to Franz and stood him still. Her touch was so soft. She took a good look at his back and didn’t see anything. “There’s nothing here, man.”

“It’s underneath my shirt!” Franz pulled the shirt above his head, revealing his porcelain white back. Libby gazed upon this and thought that he needed to get a little color, but didn’t see anything crawling on him.

“Do you see anything?” Franz asked.

Libby leaned in close to further inspect. She could see nothing out of the ordinary. “Nope.”

It was then that Bob Butts came out and looked at the two of them. It looked like Franz was flashing everyone and Libby was looking at his butt. He cleared his throat, causing Libby and Franz to turn around and stare at him.

“It’s not what it looks like,” Franz said, lowering his shirt.

“I don’t want to know,” Bob replied. “Just make sure that you have time to clean the floor near the registers. A kid threw up near register 3 and I’m not sure if The Fucktards cleaned it.”

“On it, Bob,” Libby said. She gave him a salute.

Bob noncommittally saluted back as he turned and walked towards the safe haven that was the general manager’s office.

“Okay, let’s get to work.” Libby handed Franz a broom and led him towards the front of the store.

Franz was still dealing with the tingling, burning sensation on his back. He tried to scratch his back, but he couldn’t reach between his shoulder blades. He used the broom handle to remedy this. The sensation had happened so suddenly. Was he allergic to something in the store? He couldn’t place his finger on it.

Franz thought about it all the way up to Register 3. The Fucktards did not, in fact, clean up the barf that was on the floor. It looked like it had been there for hours. Parts of it had dried and crusted. Libby gagged.

“I hate those guys,” Libby whispered under her breath. “I’ll go get the mop.”

Franz was left alone at the front of the store. He hoped that no one needed to be rung up or anything. He wasn’t sure if anyone else was in the store. Franz looked at his watch and saw that it was about 11:30. He wondered what Rob was doing.

Franz didn’t realize how much the burning sensation had let up until it flared up again. He cried out and braced himself against Register 2. He was convinced that there was something on his back. He took his shirt off and tried to see what it was. He gasped when he saw that there were black marks all over him. It looked like someone had scribbled all over his torso with black marker. Where had this come from? He looked closer and realized that he had seen this before. Only last time it wasn’t on him, but someone else. Who was it?

Franz racked his brain and tried to remember where he had seen this. Then, in a flash it came to him. It was a curse that someone from his past liked to use. Franz shuddered to think of who was behind it. Could it be? Could it be her?

The smell of cinnamon hit Franz’s olfactory senses. Goosebumps rose on his arms. He recognized that smell anywhere. Well, other than the fact that it was cinnamon, he knew that this smell came from a perfume bottle. It was a perfume that could only be found in New York City. He only knew of one person who wore it. He sensed that that person was nearby, very close.

Franz took a deep breath and steeled himself to slowly turn around. He closed his eyes and tried to tell himself that this wasn’t happening. She couldn’t be there. She couldn’t. He counted to four and opened his eyes. There before him was a young, black woman wearing a black Batman blouse. She had a devilish grin and a wicked look on her face.

“Hello, lover,” she said.

Supernaturally Yours Episode 9: Vampire with a Job

Supernaturally Yours Episode 9

Franz stared at his cell phone and willed it to move towards him. The phone remained on the black coffee table, defying Franz the satisfaction of telekinetic abilities. He had been going at it for fifteen minutes and yielded no results. He decided that it was enough training for the day and he would try it again tomorrow night. Maybe one day his vampire super power will kick in; it just wasn’t today.

The reason he was fixated on his phone was because he was thinking about the job offer Bob Butts had given him at the grocery store Wednesday morning. The idea of working again thrilled him. The last job he had in New York City was as a powerful investment banker. He got paid scads of cash. He was living on his savings at this point. He didn’t really need a job, but life had to be more than late night infomercials. He had been debating calling Bob Butts all night, but lacked the fortitude to pick up the phone and do it. The store was open 24 hours, so it wasn’t like Bob Butts was going anywhere.

The front door to the apartment opened suddenly. Franz jumped up and ran to close it and pushed Rob back into the hallway in doing so. He opened it again and saw that it was only Rob.

“Hey, what’s the big idea?” Rob asked. He was holding two large Abercrombie and Fitch bags in his hands. Franz saw that they were stuff full of clothes. “It’s just me! Not a burglar.”

Franz stepped aside and allowed Rob to enter. “I’m sorry. I’m not used to sharing my apartment with anyone. I forgot I left it unlocked for you.” He closed the door and followed Rob into the living room. “What’s this?”

“What’s left of my wardrobe from home,” Rob replied, hefting the bags featuring well muscled, shirtless, white men on the couch. “Evan was kind enough to get them out of my half of the dresser and sneak them out of the house.”

“So, her mom is moving in permanently?” Franz asked, trying to sound concerned, but secretly wanting to know when Rob would be allowed to move back home.

“Yes, for the foreseeable future.” Rob sat down between the bags.

“Is there anything you can do to get her to change her mind?”

“Not unless I can get her mom to start talking to her dad again.” Rob let the idea hang out there in the ether. “Yeah, but that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon. What are you watching?”

Franz had let the TV play an infomercial about Zumba. There were people in pretty good shape sweating to something that didn’t sound like the oldies. He had been so focused on making his cell phone levitate that he didn’t notice it. “Just some Zumba. Don’t you wanna, wanna Zumba?”

“Franz, don’t take this the wrong way, but you have to get an afterlife.” Rob looked for the remote and when he found it, he turned off the television. “You can’t spend your time watching infomercials and sipping blood. You should be outside getting fresh air… Wait, do you breathe?”

Franz sighed.

“Okay, breathing check,” Rob said. “Get some air.”

“I get plenty of air,” Franz replied, feeling defensive. Rob looked at him incredulously. “I do. In fact, hand me my phone.” Rob retrieved Franz’s phone and handed it to him. Franz activated the internet on it and found the phone number for Spike’s Co-Op. “I’m going to get a job.”

“You’re getting a what?” Rob smiled. “Where?”

“At the Co-op.” Franz sounded proud of himself. Rob looked impressed.

Franz pressed the button that allowed the phone to call the store. The line rang and rang. After a minute of ringing, the line finally picked up.

“Yeah, I fucking got it!” said a young male voice. “Spike’s Co-op, this is Mikey, how can I help you?”

“Yes, I’d like to speak to Bob Butts, please.”

“Please hold.”

Suddenly, there was hold muzak. It was a lullaby version of The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Disarm”. Franz put it on speakerphone for Rob to hear and they laughed. Two minutes later, the muzak ended and a man’s voice replaced it.

“This is Bob.”

“Bob, this is Franz.”

“Who?”

“The guy who came into the store last night had helped you unpack your truck.”

“The pale, pasty guy, or the one with the interesting hair?”

Franz sighed and shook his head. “The pale, pasty guy.” He didn’t think he was that pasty, but maybe he did lack some color. He wondered if he should go about buying some make up to make him appear warmer. Then he remembered that he couldn’t see himself in a mirror and he doubted that Rob knew how to do make up. Maybe he should have moved to Los Angeles instead.

“Bob, I was thinking about your job offer and I’d like to accept it if it’s still on the table.” If Franz’s heart had been beating, it would have been beating at a mile a minute. He crossed his fingers behind his back.

He didn’t anticipate himself wanting a job so badly. He supposed that he was tired of sitting around all night. Sure, that had been his goal the first two months he lived in Angel Springs, but he was alone. Again, that’s what he wanted, but how long did he really expect to find that satisfying? Spending this time with Rob had really shown him how much he missed being social. Now he was ready to get out there a meet people… Or was he?

“Yeah, the position is still open,” Bob said. “Are you sure you want it?”

Franz didn’t hesitate for a single second. “Yes!”

“Great! It’s yours.”

Franz uncrossed his fingers and gave Rob a thumbs up! Rob cheered for him.

“Am I on speakerphone?” Bob asked.

“Oh, sorry about that!” Franz pressed the screen and found the button that disabled speakerphone. “Sorry! I’d like to ask if I could please get the overnight shift?”

“That’s perfect,” Bob chuckled. “I’ve only got two people working the overnight shift.” He suddenly got quiet and whispered. “Can I ask you a favor?”

“Sure.” Franz was intrigued.

“Could you start tonight? I really need the help.”

“Start tonight?” Franz repeated for the sake of Rob, who was hanging off to the side trying to listen in. “I’d be happy to!”

Bob let out a great sigh of relief. He chuckled nervously. “Thank God! Perfect. Come on down to the store in thirty minutes and we’ll get the paperwork started.”

“Sounds like a deal. Thanks a lot, Bob.” Franz hung up the phone before Bob could thank him in return. He looked to Rob and smiled. Rob in turn hugged him and jumped up and down.

“You’s a working man now!” Rob cheered.

“He wants me there in thirty minutes.” Franz ran his hands over his slicked back hair. “I should get ready. How do I look?”

“Like a vampire with a job!” Rob spun him around and smacked him on his behind. “Now go get dressed!” Rob pushed Franz all the way into his bedroom and shut the door behind him.

After Franz dressed in his best black attire, he exited his bedroom looking like he was ready to do a bank merger. Rob frowned at him.

“We’re going to need to hit the mall. You need clothes you can work in. You’re blue collar now,” Rob said, straightening Franz’s collar. “We’ll hit the town later. Now, go out there and make me proud!”

Rob quickly hustled Franz towards the front door. Franz barely had time to grab his car keys before Rob had him standing in the hallway outside of the apartment. Rob cheerfully wished him a good night at work and shut the door.

Franz wanted to tell Rob not to sleep in his bed while he was gone, but he supposed that there was no time. He simply turned around and headed towards the elevator. He realized he forgot to pack a lunch.

 

***

It was about 11:00pm when Rob switched off the television. He had taken in as much brain numbing reality TV as he could take. It wasn’t anything that he was ashamed of watching. It wasn’t anything like Survivor: Los Angeles or whatever. It was a ghost hunting show where the white people go to a place and scare the living daylights out of themselves in the dark. He loved that stuff, but it was time for bed.

He stood up from the couch and made his way to Franz’s bedroom. He was sure that Franz wouldn’t mind if he slept in his bed while he was at work; he wasn’t using it right then and if he set an alarm, he could be up before the sun came up. Franz would thank him for being so courteous.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Rob was startled and left out a short scream. He blushed as he hoped that no one heard him. He didn’t always scream, but when he did, it was like a five year old girl.

Rob composed himself and walked over to the front door. He peered through the peep hole and saw that there was a young black woman standing in the hallway. She was dressed in a black blouse that had the Batman logo on it. Maybe it was a neighbor wanting to complain about the screams of the people in the ghost hunting television show he was watching. The volume had been up pretty high. Maybe she was selling cookies. He wanted cookies. He unlocked the door and opened it.

“Hello!” Rob said. He could see that the woman was thrown off by his appearance. She took a step back and smiled, trying to hide her apparent disappointment. “Was the TV too loud? Are you selling cookies?” He looked at her hands to see that they were bare. It was his turn to be disappointed.

“Umm, does a Franz Schreiber live here?” the woman asked.

“Yeah!” Rob said, looking into her hazel eyes. Somehow he felt that he could tell her anything. “He lives here.”

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I’m Rob, his roommate.”

“I didn’t know Franz had a roommate.”

“I didn’t know you weren’t selling cookies,” Rob replied.

The woman smiled at him as she looked him up and down. “And he’s cute, too.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere.” Rob giggled.

“Where is Franz now?”

“Oh, he got a job at the co-op grocery store tonight!” Rob couldn’t figure out why he was saying so much. He kept thinking that this woman’s eyes were gorgeous. “He’ll be back sometime before morning. Would you like to leave a message?”

The woman shook her head. “No, I’ll come back at another time.” She pressed her index finger against her lips. “Shhh.” She blinked and she casually walked away towards the elevator.

Rob watched her leave and when the elevator arrived, she looked at him and waved before stepping into it. He was confused and he didn’t know why. The longer he stood there, the more confused he was about why he was standing there with the door open. He yawned as he closed the door and wondered why he had such a hankering for cookies.

 

 

Supernaturally Yours Episode 8: The Sacrifice

Supernaturally Yours Episode 8

 

Rob bent down to pick up the poor goldfish that was flopping around on the floor, but Griselda shouted to him, “Leave him.” Rob stood up and raised his hands in the air. He ventured a look down at his new friend. He knew that he was suffering, suffocating.

“You have a choice to make,” Griselda said, holding her stomach. She hadn’t eaten much of the goulash, but she ate enough to have upset her stomach. “Only you can make this choice. It will be very hard for you.” She took a step toward Rob, stepping over the piles of her friends. She picked up the fish and held it by its tail.”You have your curse, and then you have the curse of your friend. I only have the power to undo one curse in my current condition. Which one do I undo?”

Tears started to well in Rob’s eyes. “Why can’t you do both? You had the power to do this to us, why not the power to break it? It’s not fair!”

“Fair? You speak to me about fair?” Griselda shouted. “My sisters are dead because of you! I asked you to do one thing!”

“Don’t blame me, blame Mikey! He’s the one who told me that all pasta was gluten free.” Rob wished that Mikey was here so that he could have been turned into a fish, too. “I’m sorry that your friends died, but how was I supposed to know that you all had gluten intolerances?”

“Your ineptitude is your own fault,” Griselda said.

“You’re a sore loser,” Rob said. “You’re just mad because I got the spaghetti sauce before you. You can’t come to terms with the fact that you lost to me. So you abused your magic to make me suffer. You brought the death of your sisters upon yourself.” He watched as Griselda took in the words and really thought about them. She lowered the fish and held it firmly in her grasp.

“What you say may be true, but the question before you remains the same,” she said. Her stomach was tearing itself apart. She felt her power draining. “You haven’t much time.”

Rob really wanted to be a normal human being again, but Franz didn’t deserve the fate that now befell him. He felt horrible that he had gotten Franz tied up in all of this. Though, he did entertain the idea of keeping Franz as a pet goldfish. He would feed him and change his water whenever it looked murky. He could buy him a little treasure chest that opened its lid every few seconds to keep things exciting. Maybe he could even get him another goldfish to play with. He would name it Bubbles. Then Rob thought about Franz and how kind he had been to help him today. It was only right that he choose Franz to be set free.

“I choose Franz,” Rob said, with no regrets.

“Franz it is.” Griselda set the fish on the floor and watched it flop around. She pointed to it and whispered some magic words. The fish began to bloat until Franz’s head burst through its side. Franz grew out of the body of the fish and he laid on the floor, still flopping. Griselda fell to the floor and clutched her stomach. That had taken up the rest of her power.

Rob rushed to Franz’s side and held him in his arms. Franz stopped flopping and opened his eyes. He looked up at Rob and smiled. “I had the strangest dream,” he said.

“Don’t talk, let’s just get out of here,” Rob said. He helped Franz to his feet and looked down at the powerless witch.”Thank you for saving him. I am grateful. Are you going to be okay?”

Griselda looked up at Rob, smiled weakly, and nodded her head. Though it hurt her, she took a deep breath and gave a small laugh. She wasn’t expecting him to be so selfless. She painted him as such a selfish person, but he willingly saved his friend knowing that he would remain cursed. Maybe he was right, she had brought all of this upon herself.

“I will be fine,” Griselda said. “I’ll do you a favor. Why don’t you come back here tomorrow and we’ll talk shop?” She saw the spark of hope light up Rob’s eyes. He nodded his head emphatically. “Get out of here while I try not to die.”

“Of course,” Rob said. “Let’s go home, Franz.”

Rob had Franz lean on him and together they walked over to the front door. Once the door was open, Rob gave one last look inside. The witch was lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling, chanting something. It was a disturbing scene. Rob turned around and closed the door behind him.

Rob got Franz to the car and put him on the passenger side. Franz was in no condition to drive. He had, in fact, passed out again. Rob closed the car door and proceeded to get in on the driver’s side when he noticed that the witch’s shop was beginning to fade away. Brick by brick melted into the night sky and was gone, leaving the plumbing behind. Rob supposed that he wouldn’t have to come back tomorrow.

***

Franz woke up and found himself on his couch. Doctor Who was playing on the television. He didn’t watch the show often, but had enjoyed what he had seen. He sat up and looked around. He appeared to be alone. He tried to recount the events that led him to wind up on the couch, but his memories were scattered. He remembered something about a fish, but he couldn’t remember the context in which it was relevant.

Franz tried to remember what day it was. He checked his pockets for his cell phone. He pulled it out and saw that it was Wednesday, almost Thursday. He scratched his head and wondered what the hell he did last night.

He heard the toilet in the guest bathroom flush, then the sound of running water for a few seconds. Then the bathroom door opened. Out walked a man who he vaguely remembered. Franz knew that the man wasn’t a threat, but was somehow caught up in the mystery of the last 24 hours.

“Franz, you’re awake,” Rob said. “Thank goodness.” He sat down by Franz’s feet. “I was worried about you. I guess being a goldfish takes a lot out of you.”

“Goldfish?” Franz asked. He gave Rob a look that said that he didn’t know what Rob was talking about.

“You don’t remember?” Rob searched his face for any sign of recognition, he found none. He didn’t know how far back he would have to go. “A witch cursed me to turn into a squirrel because I took a jar of spaghetti sauce she wanted. You and I went to her shop for dinner, but I used the wrong kind of pasta and her friends died. To take revenge on me, the witch turned you into a goldfish. She made me choose to between not being a squirrel or turning you back into a vampire. I chose you.”

This was slowly coming back to Franz. He remembered feeling like he was suffocating. He looked to Rob and smiled. “Thank you for saving me. I thought it was all some crazy dream.”

“It has been a wild day,” Rob said. “But I’m glad it’s over.”

Rob’s cell phone rang. He checked it and saw that Evan was calling. “Hey, babe!” he said as he answered it. “The dinner party was a great success… I guess…”

“You guess?” Evan asked.

“Well, they loved the goulash, but they all had a severe reaction to it and they got sick.” Rob left out the part that they all burned up from the inside and melted into a pile of ash. “But at least they liked it.”

“That’s terrible,”she replied. She sighed, which she usually did when she had some bad news to tell.

“What?” Rob asked, wanting to get it over with.

“It’s Mom. I don’t know what you said to her, but she is hell bent on moving in with me,” Evan replied. “She is making arrangements to have her things shipped here.”

“Talk her out of it!” Rob said, wanting to go home. “Tell her that everything is fine and you don’t need her to move in with you.”

“Don’t you think I tried?” Evan sounded upset. “My mom is nothing if not determined. She’s made up her mind. This, of course, means…”

“That I’m homeless.” Rob’s heart sank. He looked over at Franz and shrugged his shoulders, asking in his own way if he could stay. Franz shrugged back, not really sure what Rob’s shrug meant. “I might be alright. I’ll call you back in a few minutes.” He ended the call and then got down on one knee next to the couch. He took Franz’s cold hands and clasped them in his warm hands.

“Franz, I know that we’ve only known each other for 24 hours, but we’ve gone through a lot in that time. I feel like we’re destined to be together. Would you make me the happiest man in the world and let me be your roommate?”

Franz really did like living alone, but there was this puppy dog look in Rob’s eyes that he found dangerously alluring. He didn’t like being put in the situation where he would have to turn someone down. Then he thought about Rob saving him from an afterlife-time of being a goldfish. He had sacrificed himself to make sure Franz was turned back to normal. This was the least he could do.

“Yes,” Franz said.

Rob squeezed Franz’s hands and then leaned over and hugged him. “You’re not going to regret this!”

“I somehow doubt that,” Franz said, not being able to help himself.

“Well, it’s been a busy day. I need to hit the hay.” Rob stood up and walked over to Franz’s bedroom. “Do you mind if I use your bed? I don’t have one yet, and I figure if you’re going to be up all night, you won’t be using it.”

Franz rolled his eyes. This was going to be an adventure and a half, he thought. “Go ahead.”

“Thanks!” Rob opened the bedroom door and walked inside. “Goodnight!” He closed the door and Franz was alone in the living room.

Franz sat up and prepared for a long night of watching Doctor Who and infomercials.

 

 

 

Supernaturally Yours Episode 7: The Pink Dinner

Supernaturally Yours Episode 7

 

Franz had laid awake for most of the morning just thinking about Rob. He was sure that Rob was not going to make it out of this dinner better than he started. He was aware of the tricks that witches played on people that had crossed them. The whole thing smelled like a trap.

Actually, it smelled like burning sage. Griselda opened her shop for the day at 10 am. She waved a bundle of sage around the room and blessed every corner of it. Franz tried to sleep, but the smell kept him awake. She hummed as she went along and loudly at that.

“Do you have to do that?” Franz asked.

“Yes, each corner of the shop must be blessed to allow the energy to flow,” Griselda said. She didn’t expect him to understand, but she felt gracious enough to answer his question. She went back to ignoring him and and continued to hum loudly.

“Must you hum so loudly?”

“It harmonizes with the energy, sending positive vibes throughout the universe,” Griselda said, clearly making things up at this point. “If you don’t like it, close your ears.”

Franz rolled his eyes at her and laid back down on the cushions he had piled up.

Either Griselda stopped humming or he was finally able to drown her out. Franz slowly drifted off to sleep. He didn’t have a dreamless sleep.

He dreamt that he was in his apartment watching satellite television, a day like any other. There was suddenly a knock on his door. A strange feeling came over him. He wasn’t expecting any visitors and he knew that something terrible was on the other side of the door. He could see its shadow leaking in from underneath the door. He slowly got up and walked over to the door. He peered into the peephole to see who it was. There was only darkness. He reluctantly reached for the door handle. It began to flap up and down; someone or something was jiggling it from the other side. Franz couldn’t help but think of the scene in Jurassic Park where the velociraptor learned how to open doors. As suddenly as it began, the door handle stopped moving. Franz looked back into the peephole only to find nothing there.

Franz grabbed the door handle, defying it to act up again. He flung the door open and saw the hallway outside was gone, leaving a black void in its place. There was a low rumble that echoed throughout the space. Then over it all, a woman’s laughter was heard. It started off innocently enough, but then it morphed and mixed with the rumbling and became more deviant with each passing second. Something was coming… something was coming for him.

He was awakened when he heard a door slam shut. He sat up and found that he wasn’t in his apartment, but still at Griselda’s shop. He searched for her and saw that she was standing at the front door. Seeing the deep orange light from outside, Franz knew that it was sunset. He didn’t expect to sleep so long.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” Griselda said, waving a Chinese fan. “You were moaning and groaning all day. I had to close up the shop early because people were disturbed by it. I suppose that’s what I get for humming at you this morning. You cost me money, boy.”

“Well, it’s your own damn fault,” Franz said, raising the chains on his arms. “You could have let me leave with Rob last night.”

“You would have liked that, wouldn’t you?” Griselda laughed. “No, that’s not how we play the game.”

“It is a game to you!” Franz knew it.

Griselda didn’t dignify him with an answer. She started pulling the four tables together in a row. She brought the cushions over to the tables and arranged them so that there were two at every table. She started placing placards at each spot with the names of her friends on them.

“That looks, alright, doesn’t it?” Griselda asked.

Franz didn’t care. “I’m not being paid to be your set designer. Put the cushions wherever the hell you want.” Though Franz couldn’t help but wonder if there was a place set for him. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to eat anything, but at least he wouldn’t look like an animal chained to something while his master ate.

Franz was alerted by the sound of someone walking down the sidewalk. He looked through the window of the front door and saw Rob standing there. He was carefully holding a casserole pan while wearing oven mitts. Without available hands to knock on the door, Rob used his head to accomplish this task.

“Delivery,” Rob said.

Griselda came out of the kitchen and answered the door. She smiled as she saw the casserole pan. “It smells divine. Do come in.” She stepped aside and allowed Rob to enter.

Rob saw that Franz was still chained to a table. He didn’t want to say anything, but Franz looked terrible. If it was possible, Franz looked paler than usual. “How are you doing, Franz?” Rob asked.

“I’m doing fine, just relaxing,” Franz lied.

“You don’t even get a place at the table?” Rob asked Franz.

“Not really,” Franz replied. “These are decent folks.”

“Please allow me to take this into the kitchen,” Griselda said, taking the casserole pan from Rob. She walked into the kitchen and set the pan on the tiny stove. She removed the tin foil from the goulash and allowed the smell to overtake her. It smelled wonderful, as if she had made it herself. The proof would be in the taste itself. She decided to wait until her guests arrived before she had some of the goulash. She put the foil back onto the casserole pan and slid it into the oven, to give the illusion she had baked it.

Rob took the oven mitts off and sat down next to Franz. “Is she treating you alright?” Franz held up the chains around his hands and gave a frustrated sigh. “Right. It could be worse, I suppose. You could have been stripped naked and strapped to the roof. That would have been very bad for your complexion.” He offered Franz a sympathetic smile.

There was a knock on the door. Rob and Franz looked at the front door and saw an older woman wearing a loose fitting fuschia top and matching hat. Griselda walked over to the door and opened it. “Winifred, darling! Come in!” She stepped aside and let the Pink Lady inside. Her skirt was disappointingly black.

Winifred looked at Franz and frowned. “Why do you have a vampire chained to a table, Selda?” She was carrying three different bags that gave Franz the impression that she had been to the mall in the San Francisco. “Since when do you associate with vampires? Such trash.”

“You sure do know how to make a guy feel welcome,” Franz said, baring his fangs. “The Nineties called, they want their outfit back.” He chuckled to himself while Winifred checked out her get up. She didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. This amused Franz even more.

“Jadzia and Patty are parking right now,” Winifred said, setting the bags down on the table. “Doreen’s not coming. She got stuck at a board meeting.” She noticed the placards and looked for the one with her name on it. When she found it, she sighed. “Why do you always have to seat me next to Jadzia? You know I think she smells funny.”

“Because it amuses me,” Griselda said. She brought out candles and placed them on the tables. She carefully lit them one by one. She could have used a spell to do it, but she enjoyed the smell of lit matches. “It’s my party and you will sit where I put you.”

When Griselda wasn’t looking, Winifred switched Jadzia’s placard with Doreen’s.

“So, where’s this goulash that you made?” Winifred asked.

“It’s almost ready,” Griselda said.

A moment later, there was another knock on the door. Two older women wearing black tops with pink flower pins on them, from what Franz could tell, were standing outside. Griselda snapped her fingers and the door swung open, allowing the women to enter.

“Jadzia! Patty! So glad you could make it!” Griselda hugged them and let them find their places. “Please sit down. Would you like some wine and cheese?” She watched as Jadzia sat a seat away from where she was intended to sit and she instantly glared at Winifred. “Fred, wine?”

“No, thank you, dear.” Winifred gave Griselda a smug look.

“What’s with the pair of fangs in the corner?” Jadzia asked. “Is he for dessert?”

“He’s collateral,” Griselda said. “Please feel free to ignore him. I invited his friend there as well.”

“Oh, the squirrel guy?” Patty chuckled. “He’s cute.”

“He is cute!” Winifred giggled.

“He’s not completely unfortunate looking,” Griselda said.

Rob began to blush.

“Oh, the door is still open.” Griselda snapped her fingers and the door slammed shut just as a young woman with pink hair was going to walk in.

“Is that Piper?” Patty asked. “Who invited her?”

The women looked amongst themselves and no one confessed. Jadzia was the guilty one and didn’t want to be ostracized. She liked Piper because she was the next closest to her age. She didn’t understand why they hated Piper so much. Yeah, she had pink hair and liked to listen to loud music, but that didn’t make her a bad person, right?

Griselda opened the door manually and smiled at Piper. “Oh, look at you, darling.” She hugged the young woman and let her enter the room. She quickly darted over to the table and picked up all of the placards and stuck them into her pocket, not wanting Piper to know that she hadn’t made one for her.

“Yes, there’s a vampire in the corner, ignore him.” Griselda went into the small kitchen and threw the placards in the trash. “Piper, do you want some wine and cheese?”

“Yes, please,” she replied happily as she took her seat next to Winifred.

Griselda pulled the wine and cheese out of the small refrigerator and walked it over to the table. As she set the tray of cheese on the table in front of Piper. “Please, eat as much as you’d like, but keep in mind dinner is just about ready.”

Rob was a little overwhelmed to see the women sitting at the tables staring at him. He felt as if they were sizing him up, looking for the biggest piece of meat to satisfy their lusty, cannibalistic tendencies. Were they cannibals? He supposed they looked the type, except for the Pink Lady. Why would they want a vegetarian dish if they were cannibals? Sometimes his mind ran away without him.

“Dinner is ready!” Griselda walked into the small kitchen and pulled the casserole pan out of the over. “Doesn’t that smell good, ladies?” The women gave their approving hums.

Griselda came out of the kitchen carrying two plates with a big servings of goulash. She set a plate down in front of Piper and one in front of Winifred. They both grabbed their utensils and got ready to dig in, but Griselda stopped them.

“Not until everyone gets theirs,” she said.

She walked back into the kitchen and got two more plates for Jadzia and Patty. They waited anxiously for Griselda to fix herself a plate so that they could dig in. Griselda emerged from the kitchen with a plate for herself and one for Rob.

“Thank you,” Rob said, receiving his plate.

“It’s only right.” She winked at him as she sat down.

“Doesn’t Franz get some?” Rob asked.

“Yeah? Why not me?” Franz asked, knowing full well he couldn’t eat it, even if he wanted to.

“Aww, the vampire thinks it’s people,” Winifred said. All of the women started laughing.

“Fuck you, bitches,” Franz spit. “I hope you all choke.”

Rob looked at Franz and shook his head cautiously at him. He didn’t think it was a good idea to tick these ladies off. He saw the way that they were looking at him and did not get a good feeling from it.

“Let us pray.” Griselda raised her hands and all of the women raised theirs then joined them. “All praise the glorious Goddess who blesses and caresses us. Blessed be.”

“Blessed be,” the other women said.

“Blessed be,” Rob said, not wanting to be left out.

Griselda’s friends picked up their utensils and dove into the goulash. The reviews were immediate. They all nodded their heads as they chewed their food. They mumbled their approval and gave Griselda a thumbs up.

“It’s an old family recipe,” Griselda said. “It’s so easy, even a squirrel could do it!”

All of the women laughed. Rob joined in uncomfortably. Franz rolled his eyes and sighed.

The women had a good time eating and badmouthing witches from other covens. Rob ate his goulash and waited to be excused. He knew that he and Griselda had some business to talk about and didn’t want to skedaddle before it was time.

Everyone’s plate was mostly empty. Rob still had some on his plate because he felt it tasted funny because it didn’t have any real meat in it and he had never had anything with eggplant in it before. The women seemed to enjoy it, so he guessed that Evan did a good job. He looked over at Griselda and saw that her plate was half full. Rob worried. Did she not like it? Did Evan eventually decide that it needed something more than what the recipe called for? The uncertainties ran through his mind like a rampaging rhino.

Franz wanted to go home. He had been stuck in this shop for almost twenty-four hours. He was ready to leave. He tugged at the chains that restrained his arms and legs and sighed. Stupid witch magic, he thought.

“Well, it’s about time I get going,” Piper said, standing up. “I have a final that I have yet to study for. Dinner was very good, Selda. Maybe I’ll have you cook for me one day.” She turned to Rob and smiled. “We’ll be seeing you, Squirrel Boy.”

“Hopefully, I’ll be Human Boy again and not Squirrel Boy,” Rob said, kind of hinting to Griselda that he had done what she asked. He looked to Griselda but she wasn’t paying any attention.

Patty patted her stomach and she burped. “Oh, my goodness. Compliments to the chef.” Then she burped again. Her stomach gave a rattle and a churn. “Something doesn’t agree with me. Probably that spinach dip I had for lunch.”

Jadzia’s stomach gave a loud growl. She clutched it as a pain that she had never known coursed through her body. “My stomach is acting up, too.”

Then Winifred doubled over, holding her stomach. She cried out as it felt like something was trying to claw its way out of her abdomen. “What is happening to me?”

Griselda looked at her friends and wondered what was going on. She looked at the goulash on her plate and inspected it. She picked up the plate and held it up for further scrutiny. She even sniffed it. She then turned to Rob. “Did you stick to my recipe exactly?”

“Of course!” Rob said.

“Did you use gluten free pasta like I had asked?”

Rob didn’t like the look that she was giving him. Her stare could have flayed the skin off his body. “Yes,” he said cautiously.

Griselda honed in on the uncertainty in his voice. She slowly set the plate down and turned her whole body to Rob. She ignored the cries of her friends that were rolling on the floor. “Are you certain you used gluten free pasta?”

“Yes!” Rob tried to sound more confident, but doubt had managed to sneak in there. “I mean, I think so. The guy at the store said that all pasta was gluten free.”

Griselda glowered at Rob and slammed her fist down on the table. “You fool! Do you know what you’ve done?” she shouted. It was her stomach’s turn to revolt. She grabbed her gut and doubled over. She looked to her ailing friends and watched as rolled around. “You’ve killed us. You’ve killed us all!”

“What are you talking, Selda?” Jadzia cried. “I thought you made the goulash.”

“The squirrel made it,” Griselda admitted between pangs of pain.

From his position near the back of the shop, Franz watched in confusion as the woman began to writhe and scream. What in the world was going on? He stood up cautiously as the women began to crawl away from the tables. He turned to Rob and shouted. “What the hell did you do?”

“I just brought the goulash!”

“KILL HIM,” the pain stricken women cried. “Kill him! Kill him!” They all managed to get to their feet, holding their ever expanding bellies. Rob stood up and backed away from the women. They had their arms stretched out and ambled towards Rob like zombies.

“Yes, my sisters, exact your revenge!” Griselda called to them, moving the tables out of the way. “He is the one who poisoned us!”

“Kill him. Kill him,” they cried.

Rob stood by Franz and they put their backs against the back wall of the shop. There was nowhere else to go. The women came towards them, their faces now dry and shriveled, mouths agape housing their screams.

Piper and Patty grabbed Franz by his shirt collar and clung to him. They put their faces close to his and he could feel some intense heat coming from their mouths. In a matter of seconds, their bodies suddenly caught fire. Pink flames erupted from underneath their skin and crackled like a firecracker. Franz did his best to push the flaming women off of him. They screamed as their bodies crumbled into a smoldering pile of ash at his feet.

Jadzia and Winifred grabbed Rob and shoved him up against the wall. “Kill him! Kill him!” they chanted. Jadzia licked Rob’s cheek with her dried tongue, the heat almost unbearable. Rob yelled and begged for help. Franz reached over and pulled the two women off of him. Winifred’s left arm still clung to Rob’s shirt collar. Franz pushed Winifred and Jadzia towards Griselda and they burst into pink flames. The women screamed shrilly as they burned into a collected pile of ash. Rob saw that Winifred’s arm was still clinging to him. He shrieked and he threw it onto the pile where it disintegrated.

Franz and Rob looked up at Griselda, who was crying at the loss of her friends. “You have single-handedly destroyed my coven. You will pay for this.”

“Why? All of this is your fault!” Franz shouted.

“Silence!” Griselda pointed at Franz and with a flash of pink light, Franz was a goldfish.