Peggy's

It was a dreary night. The light of the bar sign was the only light that you could see. In neon lights it said, Peggy’s Bar.A young man walked in slightly hunched over. He had a black leather jacket over a white shirt, along with black, boot-cut jeans and cowboy boots. Every single woman and a few men were staring at the man as he sat down next to the bar. He tipped his cowboy hat at the woman behind the bar. “Could I have whatever cheap beer you’ve got? Thanks,” he said quietly, noticing all eyes on him.

The bartender, an older woman, just nodded and pulled out a beer for him. “Here ya go, son. I don’t think I’ve seen you in here before.”

“Oh, you haven’t. If things go well, hopefully you won’t be seeing me again.” He started looking around the bar.

“Well, whatever you’re hoping to do, I hope it goes well. What’s your name? I’m Peggy,” she said with a slight smile.

“Victor and thank you.” He kept looking at everyone as if he was trying to find a specific person in the little country bar.

A woman took a seat next to him. She was wearing a flannel shirt along with square-toed boots. “Hi, I’m Marianne.”

“Victor. Can I get you a drink?” He accidentally touched his arm against hers, and he shivered from how cold her skin was. Victor immediately changed his demeanor, standing up from the bar stool. Adrenaline started to pump through his body.

Marianne followed him out of the bar into the dark night, and he turned around to look at her, holding his hands under the leather jacket. “I know exactly who you are. You’re the reason I came to this hick town.” She flashed a grin with her fangs showing.

The vampire took a few steps to get closer to Victor. He knew it was now or never. He had a job to do after all. He quickly grabbed the stake from his boot, making the woman step slightly backwards. There was a frightened look suddenly in the vampire woman’s eyes as Victor grabbed her roughly. “Really? Were you not expecting me to have weapons on me?” he laughed lowly.

She composed herself with a smile exposing her fangs. “I’m no more afraid of you than any normal human,” the vampire laughed. Victor took another step forward before throwing the stake right in her heart. With a gasp, the beautiful lady was dead and gray on the street.

Peggy ran out from the bar and looked at Victor then the vampire on the ground. “Really? We’ve got vampires now in this town? I thought they liked big cities,” she sighed with a shake of her head.

“Afraid no one is truly “safe” from vampires. The ones that come to small towns like that it’s quiet. It’s their thing.” he said with a slight smile. “Some enjoy the cities and others enjoy the smaller towns. I heard a few were down this way so I came to take care of the problem. I’m not yet done here; do you happen to know a motel in this area?” Peggy nodded still staring at the vampire on the ground.

“It’s down on Kerry Drive, just take a right down this road. Also, sir, would you mind burying the vampire woman? Wouldn’t want some folks seeing a dead vampire, might spook ‘em.”

Victor chuckled as he put a hand through his red hair under his cowboy hat. “Yeah, I’ll clean up the mess I made. Let me start that.” The lady pointed over to an area, a small field right by the bar. Victor went to his car to pull out a shovel then went to the small field. With each scoop of dirt, he wondered how many more vampires were hanging out in such a dead town. He’d only seen a few people since coming into Masonville. When the ground was dug up enough, he grabbed the vampire, Marianne, and started pouring the dirt back over her. “It was nice knowing ya, Marianne. Too bad you didn’t give much of a fight.” He finished pouring the dirt over the vampire.

He got into his truck and followed to where the motel was. It felt as if he had been driving for hours before he got to Masonville. He took pictures of the dead vampire as proof to his Vampire Hunter Guild to get his payout. He had enough money to stay a few nights until the money was sent to his account.

The motel was decayed. Paint was peeling off the walls, but it was not the worst motel or place he’s had to sleep, he thought to himself.

A young woman came to the desk from the hall. “Good evening, sir. How can I help you?”

“I just need a room for the night, please.” She nodded and looked up and down his body. Victor looked down to see how dirty his clothes had gotten from digging up the vampire’s grave.

“Rough night?” She met his eyes, and he nodded slightly.

“You could say that. How much do ya need?”

“Seventy bucks.”

He grabbed cash from his leather jacket the handed the woman seventy dollars. The woman handed him a keycard. “You’re on the second floor, room B7. Have a good night.”

“Thanks ma’am – you as well,” he said tipping his hat with his left hand. Victor walked up the two flights of stairs and to his room. When he got in the room, he sat with his bag on the bed. A soft sigh left his lips as he stared at the white ceiling. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

“Room service,” the voice said laughing. Victor quickly grabbed the stake from his boot before walking up to the door.

“Oh yeah? Room service huh?” As soon as he opened the door, the vampire lunged at him. He already had the stake at his chest. He saw the vampire immediately turn gray as he dropped to the floor. Victor shook his head. “Why do some of them feel the need to announce themselves? Foolish,” he said with a loud sigh.

A woman ran across the hall screaming. She saw the vampire on the ground. “Joey! Joey! You bastard!” She growled at him letting her fangs show. He struggled to grab the stake out of the vampire.

“Dammit, I really need to keep a spare stake in my other boot at all times,” he cursed himself. Victor wondered why the vampire wasn’t attacking him, but she was full blown sobbing. He assumed they must have been undead lovers.

“How dare you!” She got in his face as soon as he dislodged the stake from the body. The stake made it to her chest, just barely missing her heart.

“Son of a bitch!” he shouted as he ran down the steps. A few people came out of their rooms on the first floor to the chaos and immediately shut their doors.

The vampire started catching up to him as he was running for the truck. Once he found his keys in his jacket, he quickly put the key in the door to unlock it. The engine started quickly, but as he pulled out the vampire climbed up over the truck bed. He saw her wild eyes in the rear-view mirror. as she screamed. His foot was down all the way on the pedal. Once the truck was really picking up speed, he whipped the car to the right.

There was a loud smack, so he peeked in his rear-view mirror again to see the vampire did fall off, thankfully. They may be a bit stronger and faster, but she couldn’t hang on. He kept speeding down the road knowing he’d have to get to a few towns over before he could rest. His bag was still at the motel, though that was a problem for later. The halfway busted radio turned on. Jim Croce’s Time In A Bottle was playing on the station as he looked out on the dark road. A flash of lightning cracked in the sky as the chorus played.