CJ's Badd-Asss Vampyre Story - Chapter 1 page 1
Sheriff Tormel poked at his gums with a splintered toothpick as the squad car hit every bump in quick succession over the Ferrell County Bridge. Bugs smacked against the windshield at the thump-thump-thump of wooden planks beneath echoed inside the car. Hitting dirt again on the other side, Tormel turned left so sharply onto CR 47 the car fishtailed, headlights dancing across the trunks of trees before catching rubber and throwing bursts of smoke and road dust up behind the tires.
Next to him Deputy Winston clung to the oh shit handle like his life depended on it. He was green in the face and doing that swallow thing drunks do to keep from vomiting. Sherrif Tormel had made it very clear who was cleaning the car if that happened.
“How much farther?”
“Why, Rookie? You ‘bout to blast your gasket inside the caprice?”
“No Sir.” Winston swallowed hard again, “Just worried is all.”
“Don’t be. Old Widda’ Lucas calls in a complaint at least once a week.”
“If you’re not worried why are you driving so fast?”
The rumble of a cattle guard murmured beneath the car
“Usually there’s possum critters out on 47 at night. An’ hittin’ one makes one hell of a noise.”
The tiniest bit of bile hit the back of Deputy Winston’s throat as the car skidded to a stop throwing both men tight against their seat belts. The round illumination of the headlights hovering over the front of a light blue pre-fab ranch house. Outside his passenger window Winston saw two soulless eyes looking back at him. Startled he fumbled for his holster to pull his gun. Finally getting it free and pressing the barrel against the inside of the glass.
“Yeah, Rookie! Shoot ‘er dead!”
The eyes mooed and turned away, a cowbell clanking sadly in retreat. Winston fumbled with his seatbelt attempting to reholster his pistol before feeling Tormel’s hand on his arm stopping him.
Tormel’s eyes roamed across the twenty feet of ground between the car and the Lucas farm house. A stillness hung in the air punctuated only by the occasional erratic flight of a moth trying desperately to get inside the glass of the headlights.
“S’dark.”
“What?”
“Dark. No lights.”
Tormel unbuckled his seatbelt and slowly opened the car door. “Lila? You in there?”
Only silence answered him.
