"Oh, thank God! I thought I was gonna be lunch. Did you know there were vampires?" Then he paused. "Wait, who's 'we?'" He struggled to sit up, hindered by his bound hands, and wound curled onto his side, propped on one elbow.
"It's just me and Fargo," Jo said, and Doug raised his non-stake-holding hand in a wave.
“Since when do you hang out with Fargo?” He gave Doug an apologetic shrug. “No offense.”
“Since he stopped trying to put video feeds in the girls’ locker room and I found out he was the Vampire Slayer,” Jo said matter-of-factly, moving to untie Carter’s hands. Carter gaped at her, and she said, “You didn’t think I’d actually joined the Physics Club, did you?”
“Vampire Slayer?” Carter asked weakly.
“That’s me,” Doug said. And seriously, that was never going to get old. He was the Vampire Slayer.
“So in Physics Club … you learn how to kill vampires? Does your faculty advisor know that?”
Doug beamed. “Henry knows a ton about vampires. And also about physics, which is nice, because Slaying can really cut into your study time.”
“We needed an excuse to hang out in Mr. Deacon’s classroom after school,” Jo explained, helping Carter to his feet. “So we thought, ‘What activity is so boring that no one else will sign up for it?’ It’s the perfect cover.” She gave him a rough pat to the shoulder. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” He looked okay. There was dirt on his face and cobwebs in his hair, and where his sleeves rode up his arms, Doug could see the red marks the rope had left on his wrists, but otherwise, he looked unharmed. “Yeah, I’m good. I’ll be better once we’re out of here.”
“Right,” Doug said decisively. “Let’s move out.”
Jo shot him an amused look. “Right behind you, Rambo.”
Doug pulled a spare stake out of one of the pockets in his cargo shorts and handed it to Carter. “Right in the heart,” he said, illustrating against his own body.
Carter took the stake and mimicked him, his forehead lined in concentration. “Got it.”
They made their way out of the catacombs in single file. Doug took point and Jo brought up the rear. It worked well; when they ran into a group of five vampires heading toward the chamber where Carter had been held, Doug was right at the front and able to take three down before they realized what was going on. Jo got one with a crossbow bolt, which only left one.
Doug’s third opponent was still crumbling to dust when he spun away from it to face the lone surviving vamp. He had his stake raised and ready to go, but Carter was already there. He didn’t have the strength to take on a vamp alone in a real fight, but Jo helped him get the vampire hemmed in against the wall. As Doug watched, Carter took a deep breath, adjusted his grip on his stake, and plunged it straight into the vamp’s chest.
“Wow. That is so freaky.”Carter stared at the wall where the vampire had been.
“Freaky but awesome,” Doug corrected.
“Maybe a little awesome,” Carter agreed. “I’m not into the hostage thing, but I could get behind the vampire-killing parts.”
“You know,” Jo said as they climbed up the ladder to the crypt, “Carter has a pretty good batting average. I bet he’d be handy with one of Mr. Deacon’s longswords.”
“I keep telling you, skill in baseball-“
“Doesn’t necessarily translate to fighting monsters. Well, neither does skill at World of Warcraft, and that didn’t stop you from bringing up your whatever-level Paladin five times when we were fighting that slime demon last week.”
There were no vampires waiting for them in the crypt, and no monsters lurking in the cemetery so nothing stopped them from bickering all the way back to the high school.
Re: Dougie the Vampire Slayer
"It's just me and Fargo," Jo said, and Doug raised his non-stake-holding hand in a wave.
“Since when do you hang out with Fargo?” He gave Doug an apologetic shrug. “No offense.”
“Since he stopped trying to put video feeds in the girls’ locker room and I found out he was the Vampire Slayer,” Jo said matter-of-factly, moving to untie Carter’s hands. Carter gaped at her, and she said, “You didn’t think I’d actually joined the Physics Club, did you?”
“Vampire Slayer?” Carter asked weakly.
“That’s me,” Doug said. And seriously, that was never going to get old. He was the Vampire Slayer.
“So in Physics Club … you learn how to kill vampires? Does your faculty advisor know that?”
Doug beamed. “Henry knows a ton about vampires. And also about physics, which is nice, because Slaying can really cut into your study time.”
“We needed an excuse to hang out in Mr. Deacon’s classroom after school,” Jo explained, helping Carter to his feet. “So we thought, ‘What activity is so boring that no one else will sign up for it?’ It’s the perfect cover.” She gave him a rough pat to the shoulder. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” He looked okay. There was dirt on his face and cobwebs in his hair, and where his sleeves rode up his arms, Doug could see the red marks the rope had left on his wrists, but otherwise, he looked unharmed. “Yeah, I’m good. I’ll be better once we’re out of here.”
“Right,” Doug said decisively. “Let’s move out.”
Jo shot him an amused look. “Right behind you, Rambo.”
Doug pulled a spare stake out of one of the pockets in his cargo shorts and handed it to Carter. “Right in the heart,” he said, illustrating against his own body.
Carter took the stake and mimicked him, his forehead lined in concentration. “Got it.”
They made their way out of the catacombs in single file. Doug took point and Jo brought up the rear. It worked well; when they ran into a group of five vampires heading toward the chamber where Carter had been held, Doug was right at the front and able to take three down before they realized what was going on. Jo got one with a crossbow bolt, which only left one.
Doug’s third opponent was still crumbling to dust when he spun away from it to face the lone surviving vamp. He had his stake raised and ready to go, but Carter was already there. He didn’t have the strength to take on a vamp alone in a real fight, but Jo helped him get the vampire hemmed in against the wall. As Doug watched, Carter took a deep breath, adjusted his grip on his stake, and plunged it straight into the vamp’s chest.
“Wow. That is so freaky.”Carter stared at the wall where the vampire had been.
“Freaky but awesome,” Doug corrected.
“Maybe a little awesome,” Carter agreed. “I’m not into the hostage thing, but I could get behind the vampire-killing parts.”
“You know,” Jo said as they climbed up the ladder to the crypt, “Carter has a pretty good batting average. I bet he’d be handy with one of Mr. Deacon’s longswords.”
“I keep telling you, skill in baseball-“
“Doesn’t necessarily translate to fighting monsters. Well, neither does skill at World of Warcraft, and that didn’t stop you from bringing up your whatever-level Paladin five times when we were fighting that slime demon last week.”
There were no vampires waiting for them in the crypt, and no monsters lurking in the cemetery so nothing stopped them from bickering all the way back to the high school.