Ludub

Where you off to Red? Hope you have a good holiday! (sorry for hijacking your thread, Pembie! lol!)

I read this and thought 'storks normally just carry the bundle in their beaks, but this very much sounds like they're back up her bottom?'. I obviously misunderstood!

What was the strange dance about then?!

That was brilliant! Matt and Chris are a very cute couple, even if Chris seems to grating on Matt's nerves a little bit. The fact that he refuses to explain to Matt what's going on is very very funny. Loved the tongue in cheek reference to Brax turning up every now and then just to mess with Ricky's head, and the fact that he just sits in a corner drinking beer and glaring at the others while they bounce around the place like Tiggers Once again, ewwww! Hannah had the babies up her backside?! Or did I misunderstand that?! And finally, love the names! Haha! That last line was perfect! I'm very sad this is over. What will I do for my fix of bonkers now?!

Okay, it's unusual for me to feel bad for Mason, but that's a very cruel game that Tori is playing Having heard Mason cry, I don't really want to hear it again! (Kind of like fingernails on a chalkboard!)I absolutely loved that Brody's response to his sister torturing his brother was to go back to bed. Very funny! And Brody and Ash have found fame for different reasons! One as a demon slaying chef and the other as an underwear model... and even better, they've found love ...together! Well, why not?! They'd actually make a pretty cute couple! haha! So... is that the end, or have you got me again?! lol!

Oh I thought you were going to save Charlotte?! I know how much you liked her so I didn't think you were actually going to drown her! Still, better than burning at the stake, and Hunter didn't seem too upset (so that's in keeping with the show). Loved Wally's explanation to him, and Matt's insensitive wisecrack! And how totally random that Josh and Andy are witchhunters on the BTTB council! haha! Getting to hand out punishments instead of taking them themselves... That isn't the end, is it?! My lovelies Matt and Chris just lost in the mists of time?! Still, if it is, at least Alf and Wally know how to go out in style, eating mudcake! haha!

Haha! What accent were you doing?!

Yeah, I kind of see Morten as this horny teenage boy, (a frustrated and angry virgin), who ended up a vampire against his will and has gradually gone a bit insane. If he wasn't a vampire, he'd most likely be a rapist or a serial killer, or both! It's important to remember that he was a teenager when he was 'made' so he never got to mature at all. He's also not a native English speaker (he's Norwegian) so the slightly stilted speaking style might also make him sound a bit dim. But, yeah, Red, you kinda hit the nail on the head. He's not the brightest, but in some ways that makes him more dangerous! Glad you're enjoying it I'm having a lot of fun writing it.

Okay folks, here's the next chapter. Sorry about the big delay! WARNING: VERY ADULT THEMES & VIOLENCE!!!! Chapter 15 Brody winced as he watched the last of the severed heads bounce across the concrete floor like a bowling bowl. It bounced a couple of times, with the most sickening sound, before being set upon by snarling hungry dogs. They tore at the mop of curly hair as though their lives depended on it, snapping and snarling, and fighting for every last scrap. He wrinkled his nose and looked away when he saw one of the dogs carrying a foot in its slobbering jaw. If he’d been human, he might have vomited right on the spot. Even in his vampire form, he was very squeamish when it came to dismembered body parts. He didn’t want to look. “Oooh, did you see that one bounce?!” laughed Morten, as he wiped his bloody hands on his butcher’s apron. “I never get tired of that!” Brody shook his head at him in disgust. “This isn’t funny!” he growled, grimacing again as he glanced at the remnants of a ribcage on the floor of the kennel. Two dogs were fighting over what he took to be a thigh bone and growling angrily at each other. “You made me hurt my family!” he yelled, turning to glare at him, “My own flesh and blood! The people I love…loved! You made me hurt them… You made me….” His eyes began to tear up a little and he turned away from him as his voice broke a little. “You made me lose my family…” he whispered, “You made me!” “I did not make you do this” said Morten, rolling his eyes in a mocking sort of way, “You choose to kill your whole family… I only told you to kill one.” Brody turned and stared at him with a look of pure hatred. “You knew what would happen once I started” he said, through gritted teeth, “You knew, didn’t you?” “That is why you impress me” he replied as he went back to hacking at the last remaining body on his butcher’s block. It was that of a male, but the head was missing now, as were the arms and legs. He swung his cleaver down with enormous force and there was a spatter of blood as the blade broke through the flesh of the heavily muscled torso and splintered some of the bones inside. “You have big appetite! You eat like you are starving… You will make a good vampire… eventually…” He swung the blade down a couple more times and then wiped at the blood on his face. He was coated in it! Brody winced as he watched the body on the block gradually reduced to more manageable hunks of meat. He wondered how on earth it had ever come to this. Only a week ago, he’d been worried about staffing his restaurant and whether he’d get a good review or not. Now he was in a filthy squalid basement, covered in human blood, and watching a vampire throw human body parts to a pack of hungry dogs! “What?!” chuckled Morten, as he looked at the horrified expression on Brody’s face, “You’re a vampire now… You will have to get used to cleaning up your mess! …I show you this time, but next time, you do it yourself!” With that, he picked up a couple of hunks of human meat and threw it over the fence to the waiting dogs. There were around 30 animals inside and they hadn’t been fed in weeks. The meat didn’t even hit the ground this time before a number of them began playing tug of war with it. They growled and they snarled and they tore it to shreds. Brody retched a little and turned away. “I can’t deal with this” he said under his breath, “I don’t understand this… I just don’t understand how this happened…” “How what happened?” asked Morten as he began to throw the last chunks of meat over the fence. “How did this happen?!” he asked, “Why did you choose me?!” He held his arms out to indicate his own body. “Why did you make me a vampire?!” “This is not important” said Morten, with a sly little smile, “What matters is what you do now… That you make me proud.” “That I make you proud?!” he exclaimed. He glanced at the dogs still making their way through the last scraps of meat. Who knew that four human bodies could be disposed of so quickly and efficiently? There really wasn’t much left! “Yes… You learn to be a good vampire” said Morten, nodding at him to pick up a bucket of soapy water and bring it to him. He didn’t want to obey but there was a look in his eye that said he wasn’t in the mood for insolence. He was scared of him. He gave a sigh and stooped to pick up the bucket. There was an overpowering stench of bleach. He carried it over and held it out for him to take. “I gave you a gift, Brody” he said, as he began to slosh the bleach over the butchers block to wash away the blood and small bits of human gore. “I can only give this gift once… and I chose you… after 300 years… It is an honour!” “So, no pressure then?” muttered Brody. Morten glanced at him and gave a little smile. He liked this one. He picked up and wire brush and handed it to him. “You clean it… It was your mess to take care of!” Brody reluctantly took the brush out of his hand and began to scrub back and forth. As a chef, he knew that this was not the correct way to clean a butchers’ block but he was too shell-shocked to care. Morten walked over to the cage and looked inside. “You know how many people have met this fate since I became a vampire?” he asked. The dogs kept a wary distance from him but growled and raised their hackles in a defensive sort of way. He was their master but he certainly wasn’t their friend. “For over 300 years I have been taking lives… I tried all different ways to hide them… I buried them, I burned them, I even tried to sink them in the sea… Someone always finds them… I came up with the dogs some time ago… Fast, efficient… clean…” Brody looked up at him, with his hands covered with pink bleachy froth, and gave him a look of disdain. Nothing about this seemed ‘clean’. They both looked like they’d just stepped out of a scene from the Walking Dead. They were soaked in blood! “Well… cleaner than some other methods” he laughed. “And you have to admit” he said nodding to the dogs inside the pen, “They made short work of those big bulky brothers of yours!” “Don’t talk about my family!” snapped Brody. “Okay, okay” he chuckled, “I get it… It’s hard to say goodbye… but trust me… You will move on soon… and then you will forget about them.” “Have you forgotten your family?” he demanded to know. “I don’t even remember my brothers’ names” he sighed. “Bull****” mumbled Brody. “No, I’m telling you the truth” he said, with a sad little shrug, “It was over 300 years ago… and I have eaten so many people since… melded minds with so many, absorbed their stories… I don’t know which memories are mine and which are stolen…” “That’s depressing” said Brody, as he turned his attention back to cleaning the block. Pink soapy suds were running across the floor to an open drain. He tried to imagine a time when he wouldn’t remember Justin, and Tori, and Mason, or little Raffy… It just wasn’t possible! He’d always remember them! They were his family. The people that had loved and cared for him his entire life. The people that he’d turned to when he’d needed help. And they’d always been there for him, no matter what! And how had he repaid them?! Biting Mason had been the point of no return! He could still see the look of horror on their faces! The fear and disgust! He didn’t think he’d ever get it out of his head! He couldn’t stop picturing the look of pure hatred on Mason’s face when he’d finally released him. His legs had given out from under him, so weak from lack of blood, and that muscly little body of his had crashed to the floor. It was then that he’d seen it. That look! The anger in his eyes. The fear! He’d seen himself for the monster that he was as though seeing through his brother’s eyes. He was monstrous! He was grotesque! A thing of the night that feasted on his family! His own flesh and blood! How could he ever forgive himself?! Morten gave a little snort and walked over to the pile of clothing that he’d removed from the bodies. It was all beachwear and pyjamas. He lifted a small friendship bracelet off the top of the pile and looked at it. It was all blues and pinks and intricately woven with small blue beads. Someone had put a lot of love and attention into making it. He smiled as he looked at it. He liked these little keepsakes from his kills. The little things that reminded him of the fragile nature of human life. He held it up for Brody to see. “Maybe you keep this?” he asked, “Remember them by?” Brody looked up at it and quickly snatched it from his hand. “You’re sick, you know that?!” He just gave a little snort and walked over to the tap by the wall. There was a hose attached. He turned it on and began to wash the pink suds towards the drain. Brody watched it flow away with a look of pure misery on his face. ‘I’ll never get used to this!’ he told himself. “Let’s go have a drink!” smiled Morten, as he replaced the hose and took off his butcher’s apron. He washed his face with a wet washcloth and then his hands and arms, and then nodded for Brody to do the same. He watched as Brody meticulously washed all the blood from both arms and scrubbed at his hands like he’d been taught to do at chef school. Once he was clean, Morten smiled at him and put his arm around his shoulder. “I have many necks for you to choose from!” he chuckled, “They are waiting for us upstairs… But I think I know the one that you might choose!” Brody allowed him to lead him up the stairs. As disgusted as he was with what he’d done this morning, the truth was that he was hungry. He needed fresh, hot blood, and lots of it! He could already smell it. Morten’s stable of young and vulnerable drug addicts and runaways just chock full of delicious salty blood. Ready for the taking! He was salivating just like one of the dogs below ground. He would have let Morten lead him anywhere as long as there was a neck to bite at the end of it. They came to a heavy metal door with a bolt across it and Morten easily slid it back and then pushed the door open. “Welcome to my higher end facility… for the more discerning customer” he laughed. It looked like a nice sort of boutique hotel, with mood lighting and lots of dark wood. It was a tasteful mix of traditional and modern décor. All fashionably shabby chic. Young humans of all shapes and sizes milled around and made chit chat with impossibly pale and strange looking individuals that he took to be vampires. “Are they…?” Brody asked, a little hesitantly. He hadn’t been around other vampires before, and he was a little scared. “Yes… they are” said Morten, turning to look at him. “Awww… Isn’t that sweet?! My smart-mouth little chef is scared of his vampire friends?” “No, I’m not” said Brody, doing his best to look confident. Inside he was panicking though. ‘What if one of them can hear me?!’ he said to himself, ‘What if they can tell?!’ To his great relief, Morten didn’t seem to be able to. He gazed around at all the others and noted how young they all looked. Of course, appearances were obviously deceiving because it all depended on what age they’d been when they were ‘made’. He seemed to be one of the older ones. “It’s okay” said Morten with a sarcastic little smile, “Daddy Morten will look after you!” Brody looked at him and gave a little snort. How had he suddenly become the child in all of this?! Morten looked like a teenager! “Come with me” he said, as he steered him towards a darker room with a bar at the far end. “I think one of my newer menu options will definitely interest you!” With that, he pushed him towards a young man with brown hair. He had his back to him. “Offer yourself!” said Morten, giving the chair that the young man was sitting on a kick. Brody gave an audible gasp when the man stood up and turned around. “Kris?!” he exclaimed, with a look of utter shock. “I thought you’d like this one!” laughed Morten, “I made him take your cherry… Now you can take his!” Kris stood there with glazed looking eyes. He was obviously heavily medicated and didn’t even seem to be looking at him. That’s when he noticed that his hands were cuffed behind his back and he had a chain around his ankle. “What the…?” said Brody, turning to look at Morten in shock and disgust. He hadn’t even registered the comment about taking his cherry. He was just too shocked to even process it. “A present” said Morten, “I watched the two of you that night… together… It was a thing of beauty!” “A what?!” grimaced Brody. “How you gave yourself to him… How you told yourself that it was normal… That it was something that all people do… The internal conflict…” “You’re sick!” he said, staring at him in horror. “And you were the most confused man I have ever come across” he laughed, “Even before I got in your head…” “Got in my head?!” gasped Brody. It was all becoming clear. “I like to play with people sometimes… I like to make them do things… To torture them…” he smirked, “But you… You didn’t take much persuasion… You were already torturing yourself! It was fascinating!” Brody glanced back at Kris who was just standing there swaying. “And you… you made him do it too?” he asked, “I mean… is he even gay?!” “Oh, no, he’s gay alright!” laughed Morten, “That was all him!” Brody grimaced and looked away. “Well, isn’t that sweet?!” giggled Morten, “You didn’t seem so shy last week!” “So, I’m just another one of your playthings?” asked Brody, “Something to manipulate and toy with?!” “If the shoe fits” said Morten, “You were interesting… but you should be happy about that! …If you’d been any less interesting, you’d be dog food!” “So, what do you want from me?” he asked, with a defeated sort of sigh. He’d obviously fallen into the clutches of a total madman and he had no idea how he was going to get himself out. There was always an element of menace in everything that Morten said, and he knew how strong he was from that first time that he’d pinned him to the floor. He knew that he was no match for him strength wise! He could still make dogfood of him if he wanted to! Morten grabbed Kris by the hair and yanked his head back to expose his neck. “I want to see you bite him!” he said, “I want you to drink him to the point of no return… and to see yourself through his eyes… To feel through him…!” “You’re so sick!” gasped Brody, as he began to back away, “That’s disgusting!” “That may be” laughed Morten, “But you will do what you’re told!”

Awww! And after all that time travel, poor Matt and Chris didn't get to have that kiss! Love the countless attempts to save everyone... They just don't seem to want to stay alive for very long! As Red says, it looks like that watch of Chris' is going to see some more action! Alf distracting himself by shoving tons of chargrilled fish in his gob is very funny, as is Chris wishing for marshmallows in the middle of a huge battle between winged beasts. Olivia not getting the reference to Marty McFly made me laugh. I guess she wouldn't at her age (god, I feel old!) This was a high action chapter! I feel a bit puffed after reading it! lol!

This is just beautiful! Its like a poem... Swiftly followed by one of the grossest descriptions of a sexual act I've ever heard! Ewwwww! Again, you made me choke on my tea with this line! So? Did I understand correctly that Chris and Matt are gonna have to wait for 18 years to get their baby delivery from Hannah the Stork? That's a lot of faith to put in a relationship (given that no-one stays together more than about a year in the world of Summer Bay! lol! Even if 'munch my taco' is a very enjoyable game (oh god! awful imagery going on my head again! Thanks for that Pembie! ) Loved the return of Blind Freddie, the mechanic type fixing up of a pterodactyl for Chris, and Coco's need of 'keyboard warrior' instruction. All very funny. As was VJ not looking alarmed anymore because it was too hard to sustain a worried expression for as long as it took for the author to pick up that aspect of the story again! lol! (4th wall hilarity continues!) Also really liked the mention of Maggie prancing about the place for Ben's benefit. As Red said, you have killed off half the cast (including Billie?!!!! ) although thankfully not my lovelies Matt and Chris. Where do you go from here? Really looking forward to the next one! I can't imagine where you're going with this! I really can't!

I agree that that's what the show probably wanted to convey when they wrote this excessively hasty exit storyline for Kyle, but it didn't come across that way at all for me. I still see Kyle and Isla's relationship as rushed and without any kind of depth. He threw his life away to help someone he barely knew and who clearly didn't care too much about him. I would question whether she really cared that much about her children either. That said, it was quite true to Kyle's character to do something very selfless to help someone else, and with very little thought of how it was going to impact him. Act first, ask questions later... And yeah, maybe he would have thought it was time to 'pay it forward'? The spin-off kind of annoyed me though, because Isla shouldn't have got to swan in at the end all doe-eyed and innocent, and just pick up where she left off. She doesn't deserve Kyle Full stop.

It would be a very handy trick to have, wouldn't it? I mean, you could definitely get yourself out of a lot of messes, even if it was just getting someone annoying like Phoebe to buzz off and leave you alone? Maybe being a vampire isn't all bad? Maybe he did and maybe he didn't... You'll have to wait and see I'm not that cruel, am I? Haha! True! Very true!

Okaaayyyyyy...... I don't know what you were eating / drinking / sniffing when you wrote this but I'm somewhere between being concerned for your well-being and wanting some myself! Or is this just a glimpse into what's going on in your head on your average day?! This is hilarious! Cynthia Blue Tits, I'm assuming is a play on Cilla Black in this most weird version of Blind Date. The answers to the dating questions were as weird and as disconcerting as the ones on that show always were. Very funny! Hannah the nurse getting overexcited and just squatting down to squeeze a human egg or two 'out of her feathery bottom' is a slightly disturbing image Despite Chris' homosexuality, he's still managed to have a special connection with Hannah, even if she is in bird form! Haha! And I love how Chris just goes with this strange new reality he finds himself in! So very Chris. Finally, probably one of my favourite bits is Matt and Chris' conversation at the end there, and Matt giving out to Evie about 'Men'! Brilliant! And that closing line... ?

Okay, so here's the next chapter. Hope you like it! WARNING: ADULT THEMES! Chapter 14 Later that night… Brody sat at the table in the kitchen waiting for that door to open. Waiting for Morten to come and see what he’d done. The sun had set some time ago, so he knew that it wouldn’t be long now. He’d be here soon. He was coming! Somewhere deep inside him, he could feel his presence already, feel him drawing nearer. He wondered if they were connected in some way. Linked telepathically because he was the one that had made him? Just how connected were they, he asked himself. Did he know where he was? Did he know what he’d done? Did he know what he was doing now? More importantly, could he read his thoughts?! “Get it together, Brodes!” he said to himself out loud. He was feeling physically sick from guilt, and he knew that had he been human, his heart would have been thumping in his chest. He probably would have been crying too. But he wasn’t human. Not anymore. It was strange to feel panicky but not to have that old familiar feeling of a racing heart. His heart didn’t beat fast anymore, not of its own accord anyway. He’d begun to get used to its slower pace over the last week, and somehow resigned himself to the fact that it would eventually stop. That it would cease to beat completely. That this thump thump thump that had been a constant for his entire life would suddenly stop, and that he would continue on without it. That he didn’t need a heart to live… like the Tin Man. It was a very strange thought! The only time it beat fast now was when he was drinking blood, and that was only because it was keeping pace with that of his terrified victim. Each feed had made it that bit slower, bringing him ever closer to his final destiny of being a fully-fledged vampire. Over the last couple of days, he’d been down to only a couple of beats a minute. Thump... thump…. Thump… It was a little eerie sometimes waiting for the next one and wondering if it was ever going to come. He glanced down at the bodies on the ground for a moment and then abruptly turned away. He didn’t want to look! He didn’t want to look at them, but he was finding it very hard not to, because the smell of blood kept drifting in his direction and swirling around his nostrils enticingly. They were soaked in it! And large quantities of it had pooled on the floor and seeped across the grouting between the tiles. It was everywhere… and it was making him hungry! ‘How can I be hungry?!’ he scolded himself, ‘How can I be hungry at a time like this?!’ His stomach was full of blood already. He had no need for any more… but the hunger was always there no matter how much he drank. It was always gnawing at him, telling him to drink until he burst. He couldn’t control it! He lifted his head for a moment when he saw headlights pulling up outside. Had Morten come in a car, he wondered?! That seemed like a very unlikely entrance for a vampire. Surely not?! Morten was probably going to swoop down like some sort of bat, or maybe just materialise out of nothing! He was a three-hundred-year-old vampire after all! ‘He wouldn’t just arrive in a car!’ he snorted to himself, ‘As if!’ He gave a sigh and shook his head when he realised that it was just the next door neighbours. He heard the car doors close, and then their laughter as they made their way indoors. He envied them their happy human Friday night, so blissfully unaware of the horrific scene now unfolding only one door away. They didn’t know that there were four bodies soaked in rapidly congealing blood just lying on the floor here. They didn’t know that something terrible had happened here this morning. Something that he’d never be able to forgive himself for! They didn’t know that the young man with the beard next door had accidentally become a vampire last week and gradually become a monster too. They didn’t know any of that! What they knew, was that they had Chicken Chow Mein and Sweet and Sour Pork in a bag in their hands, and a bottle of Chardonnay chilling in the fridge. They also knew that X-Factor was on tonight and that that young girl from Brisbane was probably going to get put out. Above all, they knew that, in all likelihood, they’d get up tomorrow and get to enjoy being human for another day. He missed it already, and it had only been a week! There was no blood and gore in their world! No death and misery! They weren’t sitting here waiting for a blood-thirsty, blackmailing vampire to make an appearance. And the worst part was, they had no idea how lucky they were! He stared down at the body by his feet and gave a little shudder. His eyes were open but the life had left them quite some time ago. They’d already taken on that strange pale colour that all corpses get. He gazed down at him, and then glanced at the other three. Would he ever get used to that lifeless stare of theirs? To the vacant expression on their faces?! Would he ever get used to dealing with dead human bodies?! He didn’t think so! Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. He jumped a little when he heard it and got hurriedly to his feet. Was Morten knocking?! He made his way quickly to the door and stood for a moment, trying to steady his nerves, before pulling it open. “Brodes!” exclaimed Phoebe, as she took a step forward to come inside, “Where’s Justin?! I’ve been trying to call…” “Woah, woah, woah!” said Brody, stepping into her path and stopping her in her tracks, “You can’t come in!” He held his body in front of her in the way that people do when they’re herding cattle. It was clear that she wasn’t welcome. “What do you mean, I can’t come in?!” giggled Phoebe, in a confused and nervous sort of way, “I practically live here… Of course, I’m coming in!” She tried to push him out of her way but he wouldn’t budge. It was like trying to move a brick wall. “Brody?!” she whined at him, “What the...?!” “You’re not coming in!” he growled at her, as he pushed her out the door and did his best to block her view. He didn’t want her seeing what was on the kitchen floor! “Brody?! What are you doing?!” she pleaded with him, but he gave her a shove backwards and she staggered back down the steps. “Brodes?!” she gasped, as she put her hand to her bruised chest. He’d pushed her a little too hard and hurt her without meaning to. He didn’t know his own strength anymore! “Sorry” he said, frowning down at her from the doorway, “But you can’t come in right now, Pheebs…” “What’s going on?!” she asked, looking up at him with newfound concern and suspicion. Justin had said that he was acting strangely, but this was more than strange. He was barely recognisable! She began to crane her head a little to try to see into the house. What if he’d done something bad?! “What have you done?!” she asked. “Nothing” he said, planting the word in her head as though it was her own, “Nothing’s happening… Brody just wants some privacy… Nothing strange about that.” She frowned a little as though she was fighting with her own internal monologue. She was swinging back and forth between thinking there was something wrong, and dismissing the whole thing as an overreaction. ‘Brody has every right to his privacy’ a voice inside her head said, ‘Stop being such a busy body!’ It really didn’t sound like something she’d normally think, but who’s going to argue with their own internal voice?! “Maybe you should go now?” he said to her in a leading sort of way, “Maybe you should go and find Kat, and have a few glasses of wine?” This whole mind-control thing was getting easier and easier by the day. “Justin will call you later…” he told her, “There’s nothing to worry about.” She began to smile in a much more relaxed way and nodded more to herself than to him. “I uh… I guess I’ll go” she said, as she turned to walk away, “Just… tell Justin to call me when you see him, yeah?” “Course!” he said, with a little smile. He watched her go, making sure that she got in her car and drove away, before closing the door again. He was pretty sure that she hadn’t seen them but, in any case, it would take a while for the mind control to wear off… and by then it would all be sorted. “Nicely done” said that all too familiar voice, “You’re really getting the hang of it, aren’t you?” “Wuh… what…” stammered Brody, as he spun around and saw his ‘Maker’ standing in the kitchen, “How… How did you get in?!” “I came in the back door” said Morten, “You really should think about locking your doors, you know? For people who were in Witness Protection all those years, you have very lax security!” “I mean, how did you come in” he asked, keeping a safe distance, “Without being invited?” “That’s a myth” said Morten, “Same as garlic and Holy water… although pointy things through your heart… That’s true.” He smiled a little as he kicked one of the bodies in the head with his foot and then looked back up at Brody. “I’m impressed” he said, with a little smile, “I said to kill one of them… I never thought you’d kill all four!” “They didn’t give me a choice” he said, staring down at the bodies in a sad sort of way, “It was me or them…” “That’s how it will always be…” sighed Morten, “Humans will never accept us… Not even family. Mine didn’t… I have been hunted through the centuries… For three-hundred years people have tried to kill me…” He looked at the grey and lifeless faces of the bodies on the floor, and the puncture marks on their necks, and gave a little smirk. “You can’t really blame them, can you?!” Brody looked down at the body that Morten had just kicked, it was the one with dark hair. He desperately tried to avoid eye contact but the eyes of the corpse seemed to judge him, as though it was saying ‘You did this to me! How can you live with yourself?!” Morten followed his gaze to the blood-soaked body on the floor and gave a little tut. “You’re a very messy eater, you know? You waste a lot of blood… We will have to work on this… It’s harder to hide the evidence if there is blood everywhere!” “Hide the evidence?!” he asked, with a look of surprise, “You mean, hide the bodies?!” “How often have you heard of people being killed by vampires?” asked Morten, with a look that said ‘Aw, bless! You’re not the sharpest tool in the box, are you?!’ “How often have there been news reports that a body has been exsanguinated? That someone has been drained of blood?” He looked down at the body of a woman lying crumpled on the floor. “Your sister is a doctor… Has she ever mentioned a case of suspected ‘vampire-bite’?” “No… I uh…” said Brody, “I guess not…” “No… you haven’t” agreed Morten, “You haven’t… because responsible vampires clear up after themselves… We take out the trash… We get rid of the bodies… We don’t ruin the party for the others.” “The others?” said Brody. “Yes… you do not think we are the only ones?” he said, with a smug little smile, “I make my money from other vampires… I provide willing necks for a price.” Brody stared at him on horror. He was some sort of pimp. A pimp for vampires?! “What?!” laughed Morten, “You have sampled my wares… but now you will help me to recruit my workers.” “So… so that’s why… why you made me?” asked Brody. He still hadn’t had a decent explanation from him. He didn’t know why he’d been chosen. “No…” smiled Morten, “I found you… interesting.” “Interesting?!” he snapped at him, “You ruined my life… and made me do… this… because you found me ‘interesting’?! Morten just shrugged. “What can I say?” he laughed, “You caught my attention!” “Great!” said Brody, as he slumped down in one of the chairs. He’d expected some deeper explanation than this. Some greater purpose. Not just the whim of some 300-year-old teenager! “Take it as a compliment!” he said, “You’re the first in 300 years that has interested me…” “Yeah... great” he mumbled. Morten looked down at the circle of bodies laid out on the floor and gave a little giggle. “And you haven’t disappointed!” he said, “This is even better than I expected!” “So…?” asked Brody, staring in disgust at the bodies Morten seemed so pleased with, “What do we do with them? I mean, do we bury them?” Morten gave a little snort and shook his head. “Ah, little one” he said, in a teasing sort of tone, “You have much to learn! …You are lucky that you have me to teach you… something that I did not have!” He bent over and picked one of the bodies up, throwing it easily over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift, so the head was hanging down his back. He nodded for Brody to pick up one of the female bodies. “Where are we taking them?” asked Brody, as he did what he was told. He shuddered a little when his hands made contact with the cold waxen flesh. This was his first time touching a dead body. One that was cold and stiff with rigour mortis. He really didn’t think he’d get used to this! “You will soon find out” said Morten, as he began to lead him towards the back door, “Come with me!”

Because... he looks tasty? Again, good question... would I? Glad you're enjoying it.

Òoooh! Busted! His haircut has made a big difference! lol! It really shouldn't but it does! I'm that shallow! So, the question is, is this pre or post 'short back and sides'? haha!

Haha! This is a good question... It's no secret that I'm not a Mason fan, but would I kill him in this context? ...Hmmm... Would I? Yeah, just back from a shift at the hospital and running Brody's restaurant for him, and he ends up at the pointy end of Brody's fangs! To be fair, you did call it early on! You knew Brody was going to bite Mason at some stage! haha! (You know me too well! ) That was the idea! So thanks for picking up on that! Yes, I suppose he could have done that. Would be taking quite the risk though! It was one way to do it! Haha! That would certainly be an interesting turn of events. I'd love to see the looks on the actor's faces if they got handed a script with this in it! Haha!

Coco doesn't mind her father punching her in the face as long as Phoebe's happy with Brody? Alrighty then!

Alright folks, so here's the next chapter... Hope you like it. Chapter 13 Friday morning about 6am… “What?!” gasped Justin, as he sat bolt upright in the bed with his heart racing “Brody?! What’s going on?!” Brody had come storming into his room, flicking on the light, and allowing the door to bang against the wall. As he stared across the room now with bleary eyes, he could see him busily tearing all the clothes out of his wardrobe and piling them in a suitcase. He was just lifting them out with the hangers still inside, and dumping them inside. He looked red eyed and frantic. “You have to leave!” shouted Brody, in a panicked sort of voice, “All of you! You have to get out of here now! He’s coming for you! I can’t stop him!” He went to the drawers and started tipping them out too. “W-What?!” stammered a scared looking Justin, “What are you talking about?! Who’s coming?! Is it the syndicate?!” He was up on his feet and already pulling his shorts on. Years of running had his reflexes trained and ready to go. He could be up and out of his bed in seconds with adrenalin driving him on. If that’s what this was, they’d be out in the car and on the go within about 5 minutes. None of them had ever known when they might have to get up and run in the middle of the night. They were all pros at doing a midnight flit! “Just pack!” Brody shouted at him. He threw another bundle of clothes in the suitcase and then charging out past him. Justin stared at the suitcase for a moment. This didn’t make any sense! He followed him out into the hallway and watched him throw Mason’s door open. What the hell was going on?! He decided to get Tori and ran to her room but she was already up and flung her door open just as he got there. “Justin?!” she asked, wide-eyed and startled looking, “What’s going on?! What’s all the banging about?!” It was obvious from the fact that she’d already thrown on shorts and top that old instincts had kicked in for her too. She was ready to run if she needed to! “Brody?!” shouted Mason from inside his room, “What the hell?!” He hadn’t been as quick to wake. Long hours at the hospital and the restaurant over the last couple of days had him wiped. They both ran back up the hallway to look into Mason’s room. Brody had pulled all of Mason’s clothes out of the wardrobe and thrown them on his bed, and the two of them were fighting over the suitcase that he was trying to pull out from under the bed. It was like a very odd version of tug of war. “You have to go!” roared Brody, in an exasperated sort of way, “I can’t protect you if you stay here!” “Not until you tell us what’s happening!” shouted Mason, as he managed to pull the suitcase out of Brody’s hand and fell back onto his bed. “You’re not making any sense!” “I can’t tell you!” shouted Brody, as he turned to look at the startled faces in the doorway. Raffy and a growling Buddy had now joined them. They all looked confused and frightened. “Brody! We’re not going anywhere until you tell us what’s wrong!” said Justin, holding his hands up in a ‘you need to calm down’ kind of way. They’d spent too long building new lives in this town and things were finally looking good for them. He wasn’t about to give that up anytime soon. Not without a decent explanation! “You’re not going to believe me!” he whined, “I can spend the next couple of hours trying to convince you… or you can get in the car and trust that I’m trying to protect you!” He began to pack Mason’s suitcase for him in a frantic kind of way. “Brody?” said Tori, “We’re just trying to understand…” She looked at her watch. “I mean, it’s 6.15 in the morning and you come in here, tearing the place apart… What are we meant to think?!” Something about this whole thing didn’t seem right. Something was telling her that this wasn’t about the syndicate. “You’re in danger!” he yelled at her, “He’s coming for you! If I don’t… If I don’t do what he wants me to do, he’s going to kill you… and I can’t have that happen! …I just can’t!” “Wait? What?!” asked Mason, as he stared at him in fear, “Who are you talking about?! Who’s coming?!” It seemed like he’d spent his whole life running from some unknown danger. He didn’t remember much of his life before his parent’s death. It was like he’d just edited it out and replaced it with a life full of fear and danger. But things had been different here. At least, in the last few months! He’d begun to let himself relax. Begun to think that they could have a life here. Surely this couldn’t be happening again?! Not now?! “Brody?! You have to tell us!” he shouted at him, “Who are you talking about?!” Brody let out a loud huff of frustration and began pulling at his hair. He knew that they weren’t going to believe him even if he told them the truth, and that they’d just think he was crazy. But he needed them to run! He needed them to get in that car and go! This might be the only opportunity that they ever got to get away. It was 6.15am and the sun was already starting to rise. Morten would have to sleep now. They’d have 12 hours. They needed to get on the road and put as much distance between them before nightfall. Before he came for them! It was the only way! “It’s the syndicate” he blurted out, “There’s a guy… He’s coming to get you! You have to leave!” “What?!” gasped Raffy, as she clung to Justin out of fear, “I thought you said that was over now?! That they got those guys!” As much as she loved her newfound family, she was a little frightened by their past. She didn’t want to get killed just for being with them! “They did” said Justin, staring across the room at Brody with obvious fear in his eyes, “We thought they did!” He held Raffy a little tighter in an effort to reassure her. “Who told you?!” asked Tori, swinging into action mode on the off-chance that Brody was telling the truth, “We need to tell the Feds what’s happening! I’m not being driven away again! Not now!” Definitely not now that she had a chance with Ash, she thought to herself! Not now that she had a chance of a life again! “You have to go!” shouted Brody, starting to pack Mason’s case for him again, “You have to get away first… You can call the Feds later!” “Come on, Brody!” she said, “You know the procedure as well as I do!” They’d always been told to call in any suspected danger to their caseworker and follow instructions. As tempting as it was to just get in the car and drive, there was always a chance that you could be driving straight into danger! They all knew better than that! “We don’t have time!” he argued, “You need to get on the road and just keep going! You have to go while it’s bright outside!” He looked at the window. There was a gap between the curtains that let a little light in. He couldn’t help wincing when he saw how bright it was out there. He wasn’t vampire enough to burst into flames, but it would certainly hurt, and if he were to step outside now he’d have one hell of a sunburn within minutes. He didn’t want to even think about it! “Hang on! Hang on!” said Justin, still using that cautious kind of ‘you’ve lost it, haven’t you?’ voice with him, “You keep saying ‘you’? ‘You have to go’? Why not ‘we’?! …You think you aren’t coming with us?!” “I can’t come” he said, shaking his head. He kept looking at the light seeping in around Mason’s curtains. Everything in his body was telling him to sleep. To find somewhere dark and go to sleep. Being awake like this just wasn’t natural! “What do you mean, you’re not coming?!” cried Raffy. She loved Brody and she didn’t want him left behind! She’d lost enough family without having to say goodbye to him too! “I can’t come with you” he repeated, “I made this mess, it’s my fault… I have to stay here and face the music.” “Okay, Brodes, seriously?” said Tori, walking towards him slowly with her hands held up, “You need to take some deep breaths and think about what you’re saying.” She was pretty sure now that he was having some sort of meltdown, something like a psychotic break. She didn’t want to make too sudden a movement and set him off in case he got violent! “You need to explain what’s going on in your head… If you don’t, we can’t help you.” “Why don’t you sit down?” offered Mason, following Tori’s lead and patting the bed for him to sit down beside him, “Come on, mate? Let’s talk about this…” “Urrrrhhhh!” he groaned, “I don’t have time for this!” Why weren’t they running?! In the old days, it wouldn’t have taken much to spook them! “Mate, we’re not getting in that car until we understand what the danger is…” said Justin, hugging Raffy to him and holding a very hostile Buddy at bay with his leg. He couldn’t help wondering why the dog had taken such a disliking to Brody over the last few weeks. Was it just that he was acting so out of character? Could he sense the change?! “You need to tell us what’s going on…” he said. Brody shook his head in an exasperated way. They weren’t buying the Syndicate story and who could blame them? With Renee locked up and the Feds assuring them that they were safe now, it seemed unlikely. He probably wouldn’t have believed them either… Maybe he’d have to bite the bullet and let them see the ‘real’ him?! Maybe it was time?! He gave a heavy sigh. “I tried to tell you before” he said quietly, “I tried to tell you but you just wouldn’t believe me… and now… now I have no choice…” “Brody?” sighed Justin, “What are you talking about?” This was getting annoying. Why couldn’t he just tell them what was going on?! “I tried to tell you I was a vampire” he said, staring at them in a defiant sort of way, “but you just laughed at me…” “A vampire?!” gasped Raffy. “Yes, a vampire” he said, almost proudly. Raffy looked around at all her older siblings with a look of pure shock on her face, and then suddenly burst out laughing. This was ridiculous! “I am a vampire!” he insisted. He really didn’t like being laughed at! “I don’t care whether you want to believe me or not… I’m a vampire, and the one that made me is coming here to kill you if you don’t leave… You have to go now!” “Brody, come on?!” reasoned Justin, “I thought we’d got past this?! …Your counselling’s been going so well?!” He gave a sympathetic little head tilt. “I mean, I thought you’d started to move past this whole thing?” “Past being a vampire?” he asked with an exasperated little snort, “It’s not really something you just get past…” “Brody!” exclaimed Tori, as she put her face in her hands. She really didn’t know what they were doing to do about this! “What?!” he replied, “I’m telling you the truth!” “Mate, you know…” Justin started to say. “That vampires aren’t real?!” exclaimed Brody, “Tell that to Morten when he gets here! He’s gonna rip you limb from limb!” Raffy had stopped laughing, having seen how serious this thing was, and was clinging even more tightly to Justin. “Why did no-one tell me about this?” asked Mason, throwing a look of disapproval at both Justin and Tori. His medical training had begun to kick into gear having just done a module on post-traumatic mental illness. He was pretty sure that Brody was looney-tunes. “We were dealing with it” said Tori, although she could see that they’d done a pretty poor job of it so far! “Doesn’t look like it!” said Mason, as he began to move towards Brody. He was using the calm and measured movements he’d seen all the doctors using with volatile patients. “Come on, Brodes?” he said, in his best doctor voice, “Why don’t we just have a sit down?” “Okay” said Brody, rolling his eyes at him as he watched him approach. He could see them all staring at him with such worried frowns and he knew that they all thought he was having a mental breakdown. How wrong they were! And how quickly their concern would turn to terror! “Okay… but I didn’t want to have to do this” he said, “Just remember that you’ve driven me to it!” “Do what?” said Mason, as he tentatively took hold of his arm. “This!” he said, as he moved with preternatural speed and exposed his vampire fangs. He took hold of Mason’s head and tilted it violently to get at his neck. “Arrrrgggghhhhhh!” screamed Mason, as Brody sunk his teeth into his flesh. A look of shock crept across his face as he realised that Brody was drinking his blood. That he really was a vampire and that he was feeding on him! How could this be happening?! “Please, stop?!” he wheezed, as he pulled at Brody’s hands, “Please, Brody?! Stop!” It hurt! It hurt so much! His heart was thump thump thumping at a frightening rate and all he could feel was this terrible pull like his life was draining away. He’d never been so frightened! He tried to wrench himself away from his brother’s grip but it was no use! Despite all the hours that he’d spent in the gym, and all his exaggerated muscles, he was no match for a vampire. It was all just for show! No matter what he tried, he just couldn’t break free! ‘Now do you believe me?’ said Brody, planting the words in his head telepathically, ‘Now do you see what I am?!’ He glanced across at Justin, half expecting him to charge at him and try to save Mason but he was just standing there with his mouth hanging open! Tori and Raffy were frozen stock-still too! Even Buddy seemed stunned! As Mason’s blood flowed over his tongue, he began to wonder if he’d be able to stop. He hadn’t wanted to do this! But here he was…and Mason’s blood was delicious. Maybe it was all those juices that he drank, or maybe it was the protein shakes? He tasted good! But what if he couldn’t stop?! What if he ended up doing exactly what Morten wanted?! What if he actually killed Mason?! What would that make him?! ‘Please don’t!’ pleaded Mason, with a little whimper as tears welled in his eyes, ‘Please Brody?! Don’t?!’

Everyone's hurting so much. The title of this story is pretty apt. Brax with his walk around Kyle's room, Katie with her 'what could have been' fantasy, and Heath driving himself literally to the brink. He probably had no idea how much his death would affect the people who loved him. Like Pembie, I'm wondering if Heath will get to see the 'other side'.

Okay... I really enjoyed that tour around your very weird and wacky mind! Chocolate is dinosaur doo doo?! ....Alrighty then! Thanks so much for that history lesson. I'll make sure to let the people at Cadbury know! hahaha! Again, the whole breaking the 4th wall thing is absolutely hilarious, especially your disappointment that we all wanted it to be chocolate (You couldn't really expect us to want you to douse him in poo, could you? Not lovely lovely Chris?! Surely?!) Love Matt's annoyance at Chris abandoning him (like a typical man! - does that make Matt the woman in this scenario?! haha!) to bring up the baby. Can't blame Matt for being a bit wary. His new baby seems a little 'bitey' so I'm not sure I'd warm to him all that quickly either! lol! Love all the bear puns! But then, that is your forte, isn't it?! haha! So good! Really enjoying this! x

Sorry, it just made me laugh! I've had that feeling sometimes when I have to present to a big group. Like things are further away than they are...

That's the weirdest comment I've ever read, lol! hahaha!

I absolutely love how you continue to break the fourth wall in this story. It's very clever and really makes me laugh! I particularly liked this one! 'Now where were we... Irene, yes, Irene..." hahahahahaha! Brilliant! I have to join you in wondering where on earth you get these ideas from! Totally bonkers! Awwwwww! It all seems to have worked out for Brody in the end. He got to burn an entire coven of witches (except for the key players?) and make out with Ash. What more could he want?! Winner winner, chicken dinner! Eh?! lol! I loved this too! You can't blame Alf for wanting to cut to the chase! Irene has kept him hanging around a very long time this evening! And I loved Alf agreeing to babysit the dragons on the condition that he gets to have a menage a trois! Or rather, a foursome! That's some mental imagery I could do without. This story is just the gift that keeps on giving... even without mentions of 'ripe bananas' (ewww!) And as for my lovely lovely Chris, please make that chocolate that he's falling into... Like Augustus Gloop in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. And finally, this is just a fantastic line! So simple and yet so very very funny! LOVE this story!