But she was his favorite body type. Full. Round. Plump. Had he been in a bar under the right circumstances he might have forgiven her her prettiness and gone for her anyway. So maybe she was more his type than he thought. Still, he preferred blondes. Washed-out though they may be, he had a thing for blondes. This woman had dark or black hair…he couldn’t tell which.
She was curled up into herself, hiding her nakedness as best she could. He glanced over at his bed and wondered why she didn’t cover up with a sheet. He narrowed his eyes on the screen and was able to determine that she didn’t have sheets on her bed.
That angered him for some reason. Bad enough they had trapped her like a rat and were watching her, they couldn’t allow her a little dignity?
She reached out for the remote on the table beside her and flicked on the TV. He watched as she dropped her legs, stood up and reached out to touch the TV screen.
“Hello! Hello can you hear me?” she cried.
“I can hear you,” he said aloud, guessing that he was on her screen just as she was on his.
“Oh my god! What’s happening? Why are they doing this to us?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, frowning darkly. “How long have you been here?”
“A day. At least.” She then seemed to realize he could probably see her and she hurried back to the chair where she could hide her nakedness behind her own legs. “You weren’t there last night. Last time I turned on the TV the room was empty.”
He absorbed the information. It seemed right. Last night he had been at a bar doing god knows what with god knows who. It was all a little fuzzy.
“Yeah. I just woke up. Have you seen anyone? Talked to anyone?”
“No. And I’m really hungry.”
That gave him pause. It had been four days since he’d last fed. He could usually go a week between feedings, but that time was shortened the more he drank. He didn’t suppose the girl was a vampire. Vampires didn’t get as scared as this girl was unless they were facing down a sycophant.
Law-abiding vampires drank energy from clean resources—humans who engaged in healthy or organic lifestyles. Humans who did not pollute themselves with drugs or other unhealthy things. Sycophants, or phants, were not anywhere near as discerning. They fed from anything and everything, searching for the cheap high of feeding off a junkie or some other such thing. Any law-abiding e-vamp could become a phant, but no phant could cross back over the line and become law abiding. Once they were lost they were lost forever. Or pretty much.
Still she could be a vampire. Maybe a weaker one. But he couldn’t tell through a monitor and he wasn’t about to ask her. Keeping themselves hidden from the human world was paramount on the list of vampire to-dos. Giving themselves away in any way was at the top of the to-don’ts.
“Where do you work?” he asked her. Most vampires in New York City worked at vampire headquarters in Midtown. Maybe by asking her that he could figure out who and what she was.
“What? What does that have to do with anything?” she asked.
“Humor me.”
“I work at Felice’s Antiques in Kingston.”
“Kingston, New York?” he asked.
“Yeah. Where are you from?”
“The city,” he said absently. Where was he? Upstate? Still in the city? What the fuck?
“What’s your name?” she asked.
Niceties. Ok sure, he could do niceties. “Halo.”
“Like…the game Halo?”
“Yeah,” he said with a beleaguered sigh. “Like the game.” If he had a dollar…ever since that fucking game came out.
“I’m sorry. You probably hear that all the time.”
Well, at least she was keen enough to realize it. And polite enough to apologize. Not that manners meant all that much to him. He did return her niceness for the moment.
“What’s your name?”
“Oh. Sorry. It’s Felice.”
“As in Felice’s Antiques?” he asked.
“The one and the same.”
He absorbed that a minute. A small business owner from upstate New York. What the fuck did a small business owner from upstate New York have to do with a vampire from New York City?
“Do you have any clue as to why you are here?” he asked her even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.
But she surprised him. “I thought it was my stalker ex-husband. It seemed a little high tech and well-thought-out for him, but I don’t know. What do you do? Why would you be here?”
He couldn’t answer that. Oh, he could think of a half-dozen reasons why, he just couldn’t tell her those reasons.
“I’m just as in the dark as you are, sister.”
“Call me Felice. Please. I need someone to call me by my name. To make me feel human again.”
“It’s going to be all right, Felice,” he said, even though comforting others was not his strong suit. He rather impressed himself with the attempt.
“Thank you, Halo, but I’m not sure I believe you.”
“Yeah. I can see how it sounds like total bullshit. But I’m not the kinda guy who lets others get the best of him. If there’s a way out of here I’ll find it. Then I’ll come for you.”
“How do you know we’re even in the same building? Or even the same state? These could be webcams shooting from anywhere.”
She had a point. Maybe he wasn’t so good at the comforting thing after all.
“I don’t know. But I’ll promise you this. If I get out I won’t stop looking for you till I find you.”
“That’s awful nice of you to say but you don’t owe me anything.”
“Hey, we’re companions in captivity,” he said, once again walking the perimeter of the room, testing the walls and then the door leading to the room. “Do you have a door leading into your room?”
“There’s only one door and it leads to the bathroom. Thank god there’s no camera in there…at least not that I can see.”
“Did you check around the walls? For a door that blends into the wall? I have one here.”
She sprang up out of her chair and hurried to the nearest wall. “Where?” she asked.
“On the wall to your right. Try there.”
She slid along the wall to the one on her right and her hands began to trace over the drywall.
She was curled up into herself, hiding her nakedness as best she could. He glanced over at his bed and wondered why she didn’t cover up with a sheet. He narrowed his eyes on the screen and was able to determine that she didn’t have sheets on her bed.
That angered him for some reason. Bad enough they had trapped her like a rat and were watching her, they couldn’t allow her a little dignity?
She reached out for the remote on the table beside her and flicked on the TV. He watched as she dropped her legs, stood up and reached out to touch the TV screen.
“Hello! Hello can you hear me?” she cried.
“I can hear you,” he said aloud, guessing that he was on her screen just as she was on his.
“Oh my god! What’s happening? Why are they doing this to us?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, frowning darkly. “How long have you been here?”
“A day. At least.” She then seemed to realize he could probably see her and she hurried back to the chair where she could hide her nakedness behind her own legs. “You weren’t there last night. Last time I turned on the TV the room was empty.”
He absorbed the information. It seemed right. Last night he had been at a bar doing god knows what with god knows who. It was all a little fuzzy.
“Yeah. I just woke up. Have you seen anyone? Talked to anyone?”
“No. And I’m really hungry.”
That gave him pause. It had been four days since he’d last fed. He could usually go a week between feedings, but that time was shortened the more he drank. He didn’t suppose the girl was a vampire. Vampires didn’t get as scared as this girl was unless they were facing down a sycophant.
Law-abiding vampires drank energy from clean resources—humans who engaged in healthy or organic lifestyles. Humans who did not pollute themselves with drugs or other unhealthy things. Sycophants, or phants, were not anywhere near as discerning. They fed from anything and everything, searching for the cheap high of feeding off a junkie or some other such thing. Any law-abiding e-vamp could become a phant, but no phant could cross back over the line and become law abiding. Once they were lost they were lost forever. Or pretty much.
Still she could be a vampire. Maybe a weaker one. But he couldn’t tell through a monitor and he wasn’t about to ask her. Keeping themselves hidden from the human world was paramount on the list of vampire to-dos. Giving themselves away in any way was at the top of the to-don’ts.
“Where do you work?” he asked her. Most vampires in New York City worked at vampire headquarters in Midtown. Maybe by asking her that he could figure out who and what she was.
“What? What does that have to do with anything?” she asked.
“Humor me.”
“I work at Felice’s Antiques in Kingston.”
“Kingston, New York?” he asked.
“Yeah. Where are you from?”
“The city,” he said absently. Where was he? Upstate? Still in the city? What the fuck?
“What’s your name?” she asked.
Niceties. Ok sure, he could do niceties. “Halo.”
“Like…the game Halo?”
“Yeah,” he said with a beleaguered sigh. “Like the game.” If he had a dollar…ever since that fucking game came out.
“I’m sorry. You probably hear that all the time.”
Well, at least she was keen enough to realize it. And polite enough to apologize. Not that manners meant all that much to him. He did return her niceness for the moment.
“What’s your name?”
“Oh. Sorry. It’s Felice.”
“As in Felice’s Antiques?” he asked.
“The one and the same.”
He absorbed that a minute. A small business owner from upstate New York. What the fuck did a small business owner from upstate New York have to do with a vampire from New York City?
“Do you have any clue as to why you are here?” he asked her even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.
But she surprised him. “I thought it was my stalker ex-husband. It seemed a little high tech and well-thought-out for him, but I don’t know. What do you do? Why would you be here?”
He couldn’t answer that. Oh, he could think of a half-dozen reasons why, he just couldn’t tell her those reasons.
“I’m just as in the dark as you are, sister.”
“Call me Felice. Please. I need someone to call me by my name. To make me feel human again.”
“It’s going to be all right, Felice,” he said, even though comforting others was not his strong suit. He rather impressed himself with the attempt.
“Thank you, Halo, but I’m not sure I believe you.”
“Yeah. I can see how it sounds like total bullshit. But I’m not the kinda guy who lets others get the best of him. If there’s a way out of here I’ll find it. Then I’ll come for you.”
“How do you know we’re even in the same building? Or even the same state? These could be webcams shooting from anywhere.”
She had a point. Maybe he wasn’t so good at the comforting thing after all.
“I don’t know. But I’ll promise you this. If I get out I won’t stop looking for you till I find you.”
“That’s awful nice of you to say but you don’t owe me anything.”
“Hey, we’re companions in captivity,” he said, once again walking the perimeter of the room, testing the walls and then the door leading to the room. “Do you have a door leading into your room?”
“There’s only one door and it leads to the bathroom. Thank god there’s no camera in there…at least not that I can see.”
“Did you check around the walls? For a door that blends into the wall? I have one here.”
She sprang up out of her chair and hurried to the nearest wall. “Where?” she asked.
“On the wall to your right. Try there.”
She slid along the wall to the one on her right and her hands began to trace over the drywall.
