Bound By Blood - 1. Chapter One

Parking my car on the side of the street, I aimed my eyes at the club which was a favorite location for those bloodsuckers. People called these creatures many names, from monsters and demons to gods who once dominated the imagination of the ancient Greek and Norse people. However, the majority today refer to these heathens as simply vampires, and my son was currently playing in the Devil’s playground. No person, alive or dead, was going to threaten my son’s life, except for me after I find him.

After I locked my car, I grazed past the long line of people waiting to enter the venue. Most of them couldn’t have been more than college-aged freshmen, and that observation disappointed me immensely. To know that the younger generations were captivated by these blood-thirsty savages made me worry about the future for my kids and for humanity in general.

I soon approached a bouncer who was guarding the entrance. With his bulging muscles that were constricted by his three-sizes-too-small shirt, I stepped in front of him without hesitation and said, “Excuse me, but I have to enter this club and find my son.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but you’re going to have to wait in line like everyone else. Unless you’re VIP, I can’t let you in at this moment.”

“I just want to get my kid out of there, and I’ll be gone.”

The bouncer grunted. “How about you start by going to the back of the line?”

This fucker thought he was intimidating when he crossed his arms and puffed out his chest. I just chuckled and stepped closer to the supposed badass. With my own arms crossed, I looked at the man who was at least fifteen years younger than me and zero years of actual experience in combat.

Narrowing my eyes, I said, “Really? Make me then.”

The bouncer smirked, probably thinking I was kidding. However, I stood my ground and continued to stare daggers at the man who was a good three inches shorter than me. A low growl came from the back of my throat, causing him to flinch and step back. I then bared my teeth, and the tough guy finally got the hint and stepped to the side in surrender.

“Get of here as soon as you find your son,” the bouncer mumbled.

I just grunted and went through the entrance with a group at the front of the line cursing. Ignoring them, I continued down a hallway before entering the main area of the club. With the pulsing lights and the throbbing beat of music that vibrated the floor beneath my feet, I ventured into the sea of contorting bodies.

I scoffed at a man grinding his crotch against the backside of a woman as she made out with another female. I wasn’t a prude about what people did in the bedroom, just as long as it stayed in the bedroom and not in a public area where anyone could record a person’s every movement. A random woman started gyrating her thick ass against me, but I gently pushed her to the side before continuing my search. At the ripe age of forty, the club scene wasn’t for me anymore, if it ever was. I just wanted to get the hell out of here with my only son who I was going to drag by the collar of his shirt if I had to.

Stepping into the lounge section of the club with low, round tables that were wrapped with curved seats, I was already sweating. This place was warmer than usual, most likely on purpose since vampires always liked their food warm. I thought I was going to have to return to the dance floor when I veered my eyes towards a group sitting not too far away from where I was standing. Then I found him.

My boy was surrounded by other people who I quickly identified as his friends from the football team in which he was the star quarterback. He laughed heartily as he gulped down a beer from a bottle with a young-looking woman with a bob haircut hooked with his arm. Her lips kissed the side of his neck, causing him to smile. Then when I saw the all-too-familiar sharp teeth, I growled again and stomped towards the party.

“Austin!”

Austin’s eyes became wide open and when he looked at my direction, he spat his beer out and sprang from his seat. “Dad! What…What are you doing here?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?” Approaching Austin, I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and shouted, “The girls told me where you were going! You know better than this! Way better!”

“Fuck…”

“You’re beyond fucked after I take you back home. I can’t believe you abandoned your sisters to hang out at this literal hell pit!”

“I was just having some fun with my friends. I wasn’t doing anything illegal,” Austin retorted.

“Oh, and I suppose that young lady’s sharp teeth are dentures? You’re screwed, pal. There’s no way out for you.” I then moved my crosshairs at Austin’s teammates who all looked guilty like a puppy who just torn up a couch. “And if I discover that my son’s at another place like this one, I’ll call all of your parents personally and you can kiss your dreams to play in college football goodbye. Got it?”

All five of them nodded quickly, and I pulled my son with me. He kept stumbling on his feet, but I continued walking despite his complaint to slow down. We soon made it out of the club, my hand still tight around his shirt’s collar. Several people outside laughed and pulled their phones out to take pictures of the spectacle. Austin cursed, but I didn’t care about his embarrassment. He was the one who decided to play with a person who could suck his soul as her meal. I felt no empathy for him at that moment. God forbid his mother was still alive and discovered this.

I pushed my son onto the front passenger seat, and I quickly went around the front of the car to the driver seat. Turning on the engine, I performed a hard U-turn and started driving our way back home. We didn’t speak for the fifteen-minute drive, only the radio was filling the silence. Austin had his arms crossed with his body pressed against the car door.

I could tell he was pissed, pissed that I embarrassed him in front of his friends who will gossip about this the next school day. However, I was even more pissed, which I would feel for my son rather than sorrow and grief if I discovered that his body was found at a dark alley with all his blood drained. I loved him too much to respect his dignity, and I promised Annabella that I would protect our three children with my own life. Austin was hating what I did, but in time he’ll understand.

We eventually made our way back home, a small, two-story house in a quiet neighborhood. Most of the houses had their lights out since the time was two in the morning. After parking the car on the paved driveway, I got out of my car and made my way to the front door. On the small porch that was lit by a single light right above the door, I then turned to the car where Austin was in, a form of protest he did ever since he was five. This stunt didn’t work after he threw an apple at his kindergarten teacher, and it wasn’t working now as I motioned my hand for him to come out.

A moment passed, and Austin got out of the car. I sighed as I unlocked the door and entered inside the living room where my twin girls, Isabel and Joanna, were sitting on the couch and watching the television. My next-door neighbor was sitting on the nearby recliner who stood and walked towards me with a smile.

“Thank you for watching the girls,” I said, shaking my neighbor’s hand.

“Oh, it was no problem. Your girls are perfect angels.”

I heard the front door close with a loud slam that was proceeded with heavy footsteps on the stairway. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s all right. Teenagers are a definite handful,” my neighbor said with a gentle smile. She then leaned forward and said, “However, I’d advise to give your son the firm hand if he ever acts that way in front of company again.”

I just chuckled and said, “I’ll make sure it won’t come to that.”

“I trust you. Being a single father is hard, so if you ever need me to watch over the girls when you’re at work, just let me know.”

“I really appreciate that.”

She nodded, and I led the elderly woman to the porch before saying goodbye. After entering back inside and locking the door, I pinched the bridge of my nose and wanted nothing more than to fall asleep. But when I heard the girls laughing from a cartoon they were watching, I knew I still needed to get those two into their sleepwear and to brush their teeth before going to bed. That was going to be a trial all by itself.

Walking to the back of the couch, I place a hand on both my girls’ heads and said, “Did your neighbor take good care of you two?”

The girls nodded, and Isabel then turned her head and asked, “Is Austin in trouble?”

I looked at the cartoon of a man slamming a large hammer on a sneaky mole and said, “He certainly is.”

“Good!” Joanna said which made me smile as I patted her blond-haired head.

“At least you two aren’t. But you will if you don’t turn that TV off and get ready for bed.”

Both girls sighed, but they obeyed my order and turned off the television before walking sluggishly upstairs. The living room was a mess with dolls and other toys scattered on the floor with an unfinished turkey sandwich lying on the coffee table. I yawned and took the sandwich to the kitchen where I threw it in the trash can before dropping the plate into the sink already filled with dishes. I then turned off the living room lamp, handling the rest of the mess was going to have to wait until tomorrow. I really needed to sleep if I was going to have any energy for work starting again tomorrow at noon.

Thankfully, the girls were already in their pajamas with their teeth brushed and their small bodies tucked under their blankets. I kissed both girls on the forehead and turned off ceiling light, leaving only their nightlight on that rotated glowing silhouettes of ponies around their shared bedroom. I left their door slightly open before walking towards my own bedroom. Then I had to hear music coming from Austin’s room which made me almost forget why I wasn’t in bed and deep asleep right then.

I didn’t bother to knock as I opened the door and saw my son lying on his bed. His stereo was playing some repetitive rock song, which I turned off with a pull of the plug.

“Sleep. Now,” I ordered.

Sighing, Austin turned his back towards me and didn’t say anything more. I knew I should’ve sat on the side of my son’s bed and asked him to talk to me. However, I didn’t have the time, energy, or patience to be fatherly, especially since I’ve been doing this role for eighteen years without any breaks.

“We’ll talk about what you did after I get home from work tomorrow,”I said instead.

I fully closed the door; I at least respected my son’s privacy. Walking into my room, I kicked off my shoes and took off my shirt I wore for work before flopping onto my king-sized bed and groaned after a spring stabbed my lower back. The cool bedsheets relaxed my sore muscles a little and as I pulled my phone out to place it on the nightstand, the damn thing started buzzing.

I thought, who the hell called during two in the morning? Not even telemarketers were that annoying.

Looking at the screen, I was surprised to see Anthony’s name. Tapping my thumb on the answer button, I said, “Hello? Anthony?”

“Hey, Chief! Sorry for calling you so late,” Anthony said cheerfully.

“Anthony, I told you countless times to stop calling me that. Especially since I’m no longer in the business that doesn’t even have ranks may I add.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I didn’t call you during two in the morning just to be lectured.”

I yawned. “So, why did you?” Hearing a nervous chuckle, I then asked, “What is it, Anthony?”

“Well…there’s this new…bounty that is now on the market, and I was wondering if you’d come along and—“

“No, Anthony.”

“Oh, come on! This bounty is paying one-hundred thousand dollars, and all we have to do is locate some vampire who was drinking in public, and by that I mean—“

“Yeah, I know what you mean.” I sighed. “So, that’s the catch, huh? A vampire is the bounty.”

“Just a vampire who has been recently turned, so he poses little to no threat.”

“Then why the high bounty?”

“Come on. Does that matter? It’s a hundred thousand freaking dollars, man! And with just the two of us, you’d have more than enough to pay any debts you have with tens of thousands still left over.”

“Okay, hold on. Not only are you trying to convince me to go back to the bounty hunter business that I quit over five years ago, but you also want to handle this bounty with just the two of us. Is there something you’re not telling me, Anthony?”

Anthony didn’t say anything for a moment, but then a heavy sigh was heard. “Well…fine. I’ll tell you. I’m in a little debt.”

“How much?”

“Not much. Just…twenty-five thousand.”

I groaned and said, “You really need to stop spending money you don’t have, especially on a man who only loves you for the money you don’t have.”

“I know, I know. I learned my lesson and broke up with the dude. However, he won’t give back any of the stuff that I bought him, and I need a way to pay some of my debt soon before I get repoed. Please, Damien! You can get seventy-five percent of the bounty. I just need the other twenty-five percent to pay for my debts. I won’t ask you for another bounty hunt ever again after that.”

I didn’t say anything. I just stared at the popcorn ceiling that I looked at like the stars of the night sky.

“Are you still there, Damien?”

“Yeah.”

“Just think about it, okay? I know your job as a security guard isn’t paying very much, so this bounty can help with a lot. Also, you’re an expert on vampires with your family being—“

“I really need to sleep right now, Anthony. Then when I get at least four hours of sleep, I’ll decide then, all right? You’re asking for a lot, and I need time to think.”

“Yeah, I totally understand. I’ll let you think…but be quick since the bounty won’t be available forever.”

“Yeah, sure. Good night, Anthony.”

“Good night, Chief! I mean—“

Hanging up the call, I tossed my phone onto the nightstand and nestled my face into my pillow. Opening my eyes slightly, I saw the picture of my family, including Annabella who smiled radiantly. Suddenly the bed felt much colder, and I pulled the blanket over my body for the much needed warmth only another human could provide. Falling asleep took longer than usual. But my eyelids eventually became heavy, and the memory of my wedding day being the last thing I thought of before I drifted to sleep.