Night Girl

Carlos F.
Fernandez III 6000 words

47 Matimpiin St., Pinyahan, Quezon City
1100 Metro Manila, Philippines
(632) 4341008
techtor@edsamail.com.ph
NIGHT GIRL
By Chino Fernandez
A knife suddenly gleamed in front of Jemma. “Well, well, what do we have
here, boys? Pretty white bitch, this one,” said the gaunt, Hispanic face
behind it.
Two men came from behind him and stood on either side of her, both of
immense size and clad in dark sleeveless shirts and denim shorts like the
one in front of her. Another one came behind her, blowing coldly on the
white nape under her raven ponytail. “She isn’t ticklish. I think she’ll be
easy to handle.”
“I think she’ll have fun,” said the one to her left, raising a hand.
“Come here pretty bitch...”
The gaunt man in front slapped the hand aside.
“Hey! What you do that for, Brank?”
“Who’s the boss, you big lunkhead? Never get ahead of your boss.”
The man lowered his hand. “Sorry, boss.”
“Good.” Brank turned to Jemma again with a grin. His knife was still
trained at Jemma’s chin. His other hand made a teasing tug at the hem of
Chino Fernandez/Night Girl/ p. 2
her short A-line skirt. Then his face contorted into a frown. “Not afraid,
eh, bitch? Trust me, you’re going to like it. We’re going to fuck you silly
till you scream you love it.” Brank’s hand shot up and took the girl’s
chin.
All this time, Jemma’s face was set in stone. Now she turned up a
sinister smile.
Brank’s eyebrow arched. “So you’re enthusiastic about it, huh? Well,
that’s good. You can enjoy being fucked by us, you know.”
“On the contrary...” said Jemma, the men’s expressions changing at
the deep and strangely echoing tone of her voice. “What I’ll be enjoying
will be beating the crap out of you dickheads.”
Her fists suddenly shot upward and punched the two big men beside
her, sending them into the air and slamming into the walls of the alley on
either side. They fell to the ground unconscious. The man behind brought
out a knife but Jemma’s leg swung backwards and up and hit his crotch with
one of her three-and-a-half inch Louis Vuitton pumps before he could move.
As he fell to the ground clutching his groin, Jemma grabbed Brank’s hand
that held the knife.
The gangster’s eyes widened as his would-be victim’s visage altered.
Her eyes glowed green and the folds of her facial skin deepened. “What...
what the hell are you?”
Jemma’s smile widened to show all her teeth. Her two canines seemed
longer than all the rest. “‘Your worst nightmare’ is too much of a cliche.
I’ll just call myself the dark side of conscience.”
She then took Brank by the collar and lifted him in the air, crushing
his back against the wall. “Have you been raping women for a hobby, Brank?
Well, now that you’ve met me, I guess you will be inspired to find yourself
a new hobby.”
Brank’s knife clattered to the ground. He was trembling without
control. “Please, don’t... please...”
Jemma took one of his hands and sank her fangs into his wrist.
**********
“Late again, I see.”
Jemma pranced from behind the pillar that she had been peeking from
to see if her supervisor was present or not, and if he was not, she could
sneak in without anyone noticing her. Unfortunately, he was there, and
Jemma never could figure out how he detected her without even looking up.
She stepped forward, her hands clinging tightly on her purse that hung
nervously in front of her.
“Ah, ah... I’m sorry, Mr. Brackman. I really tried to make it...”
Brackman glared at her. “Young miss, despite the fact that you are
part of the nightshift crew, you are working on a strict schedule. You are
not at liberty to be flexible with your time. Either you come at seven PM
sharp or you will have to find yourself another job. Do I make myself
clear?”
“Uh... yes sir.”
“Remember that your performance and behavior represents that of the
whole company’s. If one cog is seen to be not working right in the machine,
it will cause the entire machine not to work right. Thus, it will have to
be replaced. Now you wouldn’t want to be replaced, would you?”
“Yes... I mean no, sir!”
Mr. Brackman’s round face sternly nodded. “All right. Report to your
post then. Either you shape up, girl, or we whittle you out.”
Once his eyes affixed themselves on the papers below him, Jemma
shuffled around his desk and into the corridor leading to her office.
Jemma shared her completely cubicle with a fellow online

correspondence handler. As she jumped at her desk, dropped her bag and
booted her computer, she could feel a breeze of human breath behind her
ear. “That old fart grilled you again, huh?”
Jemma sighed. She glanced at her cubicle mate. “Oh, hi, Maureen.
Yeah, you know the routine. Believe me, I’m trying to make it at six, but
the whole ball game rolls the wrong way.”
“Oh, don’t worry too much. You know that old fart. Brackman’s just a
wheezing opportunist. He’s only our department head but he acts like he’s
the boss of the whole friggin’ company. You know how people are when
they’ve stayed in the company since its inception or when they stayed for
years on end. They think they can push anybody around. You’d wish you could
drag them by their collars and toss them out the twentieth floor of a
building.”
“But you can’t just ask your real employer to boot them out, can you,
unless you’re a bootlicker yourself?” Jemma replied.
“Yep. The state of employment in the 21st Century.”
She wished she could say that as a vampire, she had beaten up four
would-be rapists and tried to make up for lost time but still came up one
and a half hours late. She had fed on enough blood from their leader to
satisfy her for several days, yet she made sure that the injuries were not
fatal. Then he dumped him along with his cohorts in a trash skip in the
alley and had made an anonymous call to 911 on her cellphone about a foiled
rape. Whether the police had found the groaning thugs in the skip, Jemma
didn’t care. The faster she could fade from the scene, the better.
At six, the sun was still up, and she could not immediately leave.
Although she would not get burned as the movies portray, she would be so
weak that she would need to crawl; the result of certain wavelengths of the
sun’s rays draining her body of basic fluids and chemically weakening body
tissue. And of course, this would reveal what she is, and it would earn her
a stake in the chest (Which did not kill her by itself, but it would make
her heart bleed until she died). But now, she did not want to lose her job.
The next day, she came on time. Maureen though could not help but
notice her heavy hooded coat, thick shades and gloves. “It’s the middle of
May, girl! What the blazes are you in Eskimo fashion for?”
Jemma hastily undid her gloves and coat and tossed them onto her
cubicle desk. Her skirt reached down to her heels, most unlike her usual
garb. “I can’t expose myself to the sun. I’m suffering from a disease that
causes rashes and blisters all over me when I’m exposed to the sun.”
“Really!” Maureen swung around on her chair and squarely faced Jemma.
“Isn’t it so hot and sweaty under that?”
Jemma glanced from over her shoulder with a dainty smile. “Not
really. I... don’t sweat that much.”
“Well, good for you. The moment I put on something like that, I sweat
torrents. I should probably be thankful I don’t have your disease.”
“Then I should be thankful I don’t have your healthy form.”
Maureen looked down and poked a finger into the little bulge at her
stomach. “Very funny. Anyway, that disease you have, isn’t that the one
called photo-, hemo-something, whatever? I was never good with medical
terms.”
“I forgot the name myself. But the bottom line is, I can’t go to a
sunny beach like anybody else.” She did know how it looked though through
television.
Maureen’s head frowned with concern. “Oh, that’s a such a wonderful
thing to be deprived of. I’m sorry about your condition.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about me.” Jemma handed her workmate a note
containing a list to check. “Here’s your batch.”

“At least I don’t have to envy your lovely legs for another day.”
“Believe me, you won’t have to probably every day from now on.”
Maureen lightly slapped her cubicle mate on the shoulder. “Oh, don’t
be silly. I was only joking.” Jemma ignored her and kept working.
A while later, she heard Maureen whistle. “Some news. Yesterday, four
boys found beaten black and blue in garbage skip in an alley near 8th and
Sommers yesterday. The boys claimed that a frightening woman beat them up
someone they claim to be a vampire. Say, isn’t that alley where you usually
pass?”
“That?” Jemma looked to the ceiling for a thought. “What time did it
happen?”
“Between six and seven.” Maureen then looked at her with bulging
eyes. “That’s around the time you came in.”
“I took another route. I was getting a bit tired of the alley that
time.”
“Oh.” In the silence, Jemma wasn’t sure if her workmate’s doubts were
satisfied. “Medical exams found two deep puncture marks near the wrist of
the group’s leader, Brank Carpollow. His plasma and red blood count were
reported to be far below normal. My, you’d think his blood was sucked.”
Maureen tossed the paper beside her computer monitor. “Boy, even the
broadsheets are getting to be like tabloids. Sensational and weird.”
Jemma smiled to herself, and then refocused her attention on the
monitor before her.
**********
“What if they discover that you are a vampire? Haven’t you thought of
that?” Jemma’s black and leather-clad older sister Greeva dug her head into
a hand.
“I have.” Jemma glanced from over a Frontiers of the Dark paperback.

“By that time, I’ll be out of the company like a bat out of Hell.” She
chuckled at the analogy. Of course, vampires do not really turn into bats,
but they can move just as fast and can jump almost as high. They cannot
fly, but it still helps to have more than thrice the strength of a normal
human. And it is true that these capabilities are not put to good use
working in an office.
“You should get out right now. An office is the realm of ordinary
mortals. The moment they know that you’re a vampire is when they’ll either
try call in the army or national guard to stake you or garlicize you.”
Greeva began to pace about impatiently. “Why the blazes would you even want
to be part of a mortal’s company? You’re a vampire for squeaking out loud,
you don’t need to work!”
Jemma closed her book and looked squarely at her sister. “Listen,
vampires have been around since time immemorial, but that doesn’t mean they
have to keep to the shadows all the time. Time will come when we can no
longer hide, and we can either make peace with our ordinary human neighbors
or choose which one of us will be extinct first. And I don’t think we can
say that they will be extinct first; history proves how resourceful humans
can be, unencumbered by a lack of pride… no, arrogance… in their unusual
capabilities or a mindless blood-thirst that clouds one’s wits. If given
that choice, I’d go for making peace. We can’t remain objects of fear and
hatred to the world forever, sis. ”
Greeva walked over to her sister and took her head with both hands on
either side. “Either you’re an idiot or you’re malnourished. We’re
vampires, comprende? We suck blood! We prey on ordinary humans for our own
survival. What kind of choices are you talking about? We have none. We have
no other alternative than to stay in the shadows and prey on humans when we
have the chance. How can we make peace with a race of weaklings whose
dealings with us will always be ruled by fear?”
“But what about that night I stopped a rape gang? All I did was to
suck a little blood from that gang leader and I was satisfied. I didn’t
even need to kill the guy! Once you’ve taken some blood, it becomes easier
to stifle the blood-thirst. Like humans when they’re hungry. They just need
something to put into the stomach, and their hunger is partially solved. Is
that too hard to do? We have a chance to set an example, you know.”
This made Greeva think. The vampire blood-thirst was intense, but not
entirely uncontrollable. Once you’ve taken a sip, you could walk away
without feeling short. Humanity has proven that temptation can be overcome,
no matter how strong. So this is what Jemma learns from that Bible on her
bedside table -- even if she needs to hold it using gloves because of the
cross on the cover design.
“Okay, I get your point. If you need any help, you know how to reach
me. I just hope you’re lucky enough to survive it.”
Jemma smiled and embraced her sister. “Don’t worry, I will.”
After they parted their embrace, Greeva then went to Jemma’s closet,
opened it, and looked at it while holding her chin.
**********
A few weeks later, Jemma dressed in her usual mini-skirt under the
long skirt, which she travelled in, then she would take it off once she had
arrived at the office.
“Thought I didn’t need to see your legs anymore?” said Maureen.
“Couldn’t help it. I guess corporate politics affects people in
indirect ways.” Greeva was, after all, the older sister in saying that
dressing sexy moves you up at work.
As Jemma sat at her desk, Maureen’s head suddenly turned and was
affixed on her legs.

“You’re not wearing hose, are you? Goodness, your legs are so white!
Almost like a corpse’s!”
Oops. Jemma had forgotten to put her hose. No wonder it seemed to be
a bit cooler around her legs than before. She smiled back, partly in
uneasiness on whether her cubicle mate would discover her dark secret.
“Forgetful me. Looks like I go through the day with really bare legs.”
Maureen still had an incredulous expression. “I can’t help gawking at
your legs. They are so... so lifeless. Oh, sorry if I put too much notice
on that.”
“You think I could go back home and get my hose? Or do you have any I
can borrow?” In a minute and after a word of thanks, the vampire girl
continued the day in Maureen’s slightly oversized hose, which required a
tug or two at times.
Later on, Jemma could hear Maureen chewing. The food emitted a scent
with made the vampire girl nauseous.
“What’s that you’re eating?”
“Garlic Lover’s Feast Pizza from Shackley’s. Want some?”
“No, thank you. I just couldn’t help noticing...” Jemma’s head was
suddenly wracked with a migraine. Her hand went up to cover her forehead.
Then, as if with intent to worsen it, Maureen held a slice of pizza in
front of her.
“Oh, c’mon, this stuff’s good! It’s so deli... Jemma, what’s wrong?”
The scent of the garlic was now in front of the vampire girl and she
could no longer hold herself up. Her head collapsed backward and she slid
down in her chair.
“Good grief! Jemma! Jemma!” Maureen carelessly put her pizza on the
desk and held her workmate by the shoulders, shaking her. “What’s wrong?
Should I get you to the clinic?”

Jemma shook her head, but Maureen proceeded to wipe her hands clean
with Wet Wipes and tried to lift her. At least the lime scent of the wipes
was more pleasant than the garlic-rich pizza’s.
**********
By the time she had come to, she was on one of the company clinic’s
examination tables. The doctor, thankfully female, had inserted a
stethoscope into her blouse and was probing above her breasts.
“Heartbeat’s normal, but her lungs seem to be taking in very little
air. I don’t know if...”
Jemma opened her eyes and the two women took notice.
Maureen leaned closer. “You okay? You fell asleep when Maureen
brought you in.”
The vampire girl aimed baleful eyes at her and nodded. “I’m okay now.
I’m in the clinic, right?”
After a few more arguments on Jemma’s condition, the doctor decided
that her patient should go home at once to rest.
Jemma held her breath as she picked up her bag, coat and gloves,
taking an odious glance at the pizza. Just as she turned to leave, she
almost slammed into Maureen.
“Was it the pizza?”
“Well...” Jemma stared at the floor for thought, but in the end
decided that she couldn’t hide it. “Yes. The garlic fumes seemed noxious to
me.”
Maureen’s face was a visage of puzzlement. “Really now? With all
that, no sun-exposure and all, you’d make a pretty good vampire.”
Good thing Maureen’s mouth was aimed away from her. Despite her
breath being normally bad, this was the worst. “I guess I would. Well,
gotta follow the doctor’s orders. Bye.”

“Bye.”
Jemma held her breath tightly so she wouldn’t catch Maureen’s breath
when they kissed.
**********
The next day, Jemma jumped to find a crucifix-stand on the desk in
front of her.
“Like it?” Said Maureen from behind her. “I got that just for you. My
mom always said that to invoke God’s protection through such objects helps
prevent sickness. I think it works.”
Before removing her glove, Jemma took it and slowly placed it to her
right, much nearer Maureen. The other girl stopped and looked at her with a
furrowed forehead. “What’s wrong, you don’t like it?”
“No, it’s fine. I’m just... placing it where it could protect both of
us.”
“No need, I have my own.” Maureen held up a hand showing her own
crucifix-stand. “That’s yours. Why not place it near yourself?” She took
the other crucifix and placed it in front of Jemma’s computer.
Jemma seemed to freeze while looking at it. “Uh... okay.”
Then as she went to work trying to ignore it, another crucifix
appeared. “Ah!” She jerked back, then stopped, realizing that Maureen had
lowered a necklace in front of her.
“What’s wrong? You afraid of crucifixes?”
“No, it’s just that you’re doing it so suddenly. You didn’t even ask
if you can try that on me.”
“Oh, c’mon, don’t be such a killjoy. This is going to be fine.”
Maureen continued to put the crucifix-necklace around her neck and locked
the chain together. “There. A perfect fit.”
Panting, Jemma was stiff, looking down at the crucifix on her neck.
She could feel the intense warmth from the symbol radiate, threatening to
sear her chest and throat. She gripped her seat’s armrests tightly and
trembled.
“You are afraid of crucifixes. Tch tch.”
“Maureen, why are you doing this to me?” Then her eyes were wide in
shock upon seeing the workmate hold a ten-inch long metal stake. “Maureen,
please! What are you doing?”
Maureen turned her chair to look at her squarely. “Just one final
test.” She took her crucifix and touched Jemma’s neck with it.
Upon contact, the warmth of the cross became electric heat, causing
Jemma her to cry out and reveal her true nature. Her eyes glowed red and
her fangs erupted from their sockets. Crucifixes do not burn, but their
psychic energy singes vampires and forces them to reveal their true nature.
“Aha, I knew it,” said Maureen jubilantly.
If she had tear glands, which a vampire lacked, she would have cried
this very instant. “Maureen, please, why are you doing this? I’ve done
nothing to you!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll stop soon. I just wanted to really see if you
really are a vampire. Thing is, I just want to make sure you won’t do
anything funny.” She sat and took a relaxed poise. “Of course, I was able
to have you for four months as my cubicle mate without my neck getting
punctured. So let’s talk. Tell me about yourself.”
Jemma gave a brief autobiography, from her birth as a vampire to her
growing up with increasing interest in the world of humans and the decision
to immerse herself in it. When she finished, Maureen put away the stake and
removed the crucifix from Jemma’s neck, giving her a chance to breathe
relief. “Sorry I had to put you through this. I just thought that having a
vampire for a workmate would be a frightening experience, but as it turns

out, you’re not so bad after all.”
Jemma sighed. “Believe me, I’m the one who just went through a
frightening experience. And if I knew that it was okay with you, I would
have revealed to you everything. But for grief’s sake, did you really have
to put me through all that?”
“Well, if one isn’t sure, she becomes cautious, doesn’t she?” She
took her workmate’s hand. “I’m sorry, Jemma to put you through this. At
least I’m sure now that you’re here to work and not to bite necks. I just
hope that you can still trust me. I haven’t told anybody else, and I
won’t.”
Jemma smiled and joined with her other hand. “I just hope you’ll tell
me when you’ll next eat garlic-rich foods so I can buy a face mask at the
drugstore.” They giggled and embraced.
Suddenly, heads turned at a sound from outside.
“What was that? Sounded like something heavy and metallic fell,” said
Maureen.
“Not quite.” Vampire senses were sharper than a normal human’s. Jemma
could not doubt what she heard. “That was a gunshot.”
Maureen’s eyes bulged. “You sure?”
“Trust a vampire when she says that she hears something.”
Moments later, people were running for the main door outside their
cubicle. Maureen climbed her chair and tapped the PA speaker near a ceiling
corner, which showed no sign of proper functioning. “We must’ve been the
only ones who missed an evacuation announcement. And I don’t think it’s a
drill. Nobody runs a drill at nine-thirty PM.”
By the time they came out of their cubicle with their bags, the crowd
of their other co-workers had long gone through the main door and it was
sealed shut.
“Now what? All because of a stupid speaker that doesn’t speak, we get
stuck in our offices in the middle of whatever ridiculous emergency just
happened that had to suspend work.” Maureen pushed hard against the opening
mechanism. “Well, at least work’s off for a while.”
“Don’t do that.” Jemma held Maureen’s hand and cocked her ear. “Let’s
go another way.”
They went to the other end of the corridor. Jemma wrenched free the
grating to a ventilation duct and they climbed up to it.
“Now why do we have to crawl through here? Is there something wrong
at the main entrance?”
Jemma paused and looked back at her workmate. Maureen had great
difficulty crawling though the duct because of her larger size and bulk.
“There’s an armed group holding the building hostage.”
Maureen jumped such that she banged her head against the duct
ceiling. “What?”
Jemma tried to keep from laughing at this. “I’m not kidding. I heard
it through the door. Guns were being cocked and a man was saying that if
anybody moves, he’ll shoot.”
“There aren’t any vampires among that group, aren’t there?”
“Vampires don’t need guns to hold up a building. But I don’t know, I
can’t be sure who those guys are. We’d better keep going.”
They passed a lot of twists and turns in the ductwork, some of which
were vertically frightening for Maureen. As a result, her progress was
noisy, she was gasping and she smelled of sweat.
“Where are we?”
“Hold it.” Jemma put an ear to the duct surface below her. “Better
move slowly and quietly. I think we’re over the lobby.”
“What do you hear?”

Jemma flattened her ear again. While looking forwards, she spotted
grating that she immediately crawled to, giving her a visual of the scene
below.
On the ground, employees were sprawled on the ground surrounded by
black-covered men armed with heavy assault rifles, definitely military
types. Jemma counted around nine men in the room, but wondered if there may
be others lurking around the six-floor Grantsfell Building. She peeked
toward one side of the room and saw the department head, Brackman, cowering
tearfully underneath the barrel of one of his captors. Despite all his
authoritarian sternness outside, he turned out to be a coward inside.
She cocked her ear as he heard a conversation in a corridor not
within view.
“The building is secure, sir. There are just two women missing from
the Online Correspondence Department. They must’ve gone into hiding
somewhere.”
“I see. I don’t think two women could make much trouble for us, could
they? Still, we’d better take note of all the hostages. Keep looking.
Nobody leaves the building.”
“Yes, sir.”
So they were being looked for. After hearing footsteps, one of the
conversers from the corridor appeared over Brackman. He was a tall man,
over six feet in height and heavily built. He was dressed in a black lounge
suit and had a small machine pistol slung over his shoulder. He looked down
at Brackman.
“Well, Dufus Brackman, you don’t seem so proud and bellicose as the
time you forced me to leave this building.”
Dufus? No wonder the arrogant department head never revealed his
first name. It sounded dumb.

“Please, Mr. Anglus, don’t hurt me. I was only carrying out Mr.
Grantsfell’s orders.”
Anglus? This was the man who had argued with the building’s owner one
evening and had stormed out, kicking to pieces one of the big plant pots in
the lobby, which she had witnessed while arriving for work one day.
Anglus leaned over, pointing his machine pistol at the department
head’s temple. “Grantsfell was a fool to turn down my offer. We could’ve
been partners. And remember, I was talking to Grantsfell, not you. He was a
calm talker; compared to him, you’re a noisy ass.”
Jemma wanted to laugh, but she stifled the urge.
“As long as Grantsfell does not see things my way, I should take his
employees’ lives as advance payment. And don’t consider calling the police.
To them, this is another ordinary working day, or rather night, for the
Grantsfell group of companies.” Anglus left.
Whatever that man was demanding, it certainly wasn’t being bargained
for in the right manner. Unnecessary threats were being made on innocent
lives. She wanted to do something.
Then she heard the tap of a pump’s toe on metal.
“Maureen, keep it down!” Jemma said in a whisper.
“Sorry.”
Then she heard one of the hostage-takers speak. “Heard that?
Something’s moving in the ceiling.”
“Must be a rat.” Said another.
“Not when they have sound like heel taps.” Jemma looked and saw that
one trooper was wearing a pair of goggles that looked a newfangled pair of
binoculars. She knew that even a vampire had no escape from an infrared
detector.
“Looks like we’ve found our two missing women employees. They’re
crawling through the ventilation ducts.” To men around him, he said, “Once
we start picking off hostages, we already have some volunteers for the
first.”
That was it. They were trapped. Jemma’s own breathing quickened until
she felt Maureen hand pull her right foot. “Well, what happened?”
“We’ve been seen. One of the soldiers below has one of those infra-
red thingies so they can see through walls.”
“Oh, crap!” Maureen’s grip tightened over the vampire’s ankle. “Think
I can hide behind you in case you’re bulletproof?”
“Sorry, I’m not.”
“Oh. Okay.” She folded her arms and whimpered into them. “It’s been
great, knowing you, Jemma the vampire girl.”
“Don’t talk that way. We’ll get through this alive.” Jemma’s mind
raced looking for an answer. Finally, she tapped her toe on Maureen’s arm.
“You come up here and take my place.”
“What about you?”
“I won’t hide my being a vampire anymore. I’m going to put it to good
use.” She crawled forward with uncanny speed and disappeared behind a bend.
Maureen crept forward and stared down.
She spotted the man that Jemma indicated, moving his goggled head
around several places. She could tell that he was surprised and looking for
something that he seemed to have lost sight of.
**********
“Where the hell did she go?”
“I don’t know. You’re the one with the goggles.”
The trooper’s head moved around, trying in vain to find the signature
that had suddenly disappeared from the view of his infrared goggles. “This
is humanly impossible. It’s as if whoever’s up there...”

Then he heard a muffled scream behind him and saw his companion
flying through the air, hitting the wall. He removed his goggles and saw
before him a lovely black-haired woman dressed in a short-skirted business
suit and three-inch heels. “Wha... who are you?”
Jemma’s hand flew up to his neck and she lifted him off the floor.
“The dark side of conscience.” She sent him to join his friend.
The other men, alarmed, trained weapons on her. “Hold it, lady. Stay
or I’ll shoot.” Once she moved, however, no one could track her. In a
second, she was behind one man, and he felt his gun arm’s forearm bone
snapping. He fell to the ground with a cry of pain.
The other troopers, now alarmed to the danger, opened fire the moment
they saw Jemma, with no thought about the hostages on the ground below
them. She however was able to avoid them, using her supernatural speed,
making sure that she stayed at the outer edges of the lobby to avoid the
hostages in the middle. After taunting each trooper to shoot at her, she
would dart away and creep up behind to disable him. He had knocked down all
of the guards when Anglus ran in accompanied by other henchmen. “What the
hell is going on? Who’s responsible for this?”
Jemma was holding up an unconscious trooper, who she threw in front
of the hostage-takers’ leader. She made a display of her fangs and glowing
eyes. “I am.” Then she leapt.
Anglus brought up his machine pistol. “Shoot the bitch!”
Gunfire sprayed in Jemma’s direction, but she was already in the air
and had crept behind the group, grabbing guns and breaking arms and legs
until she was face to face with Anglus. Seeing that he had no help, she
lunged.
Then she stopped in her tracks when she saw Anglus holding up a large
crucifix that hung from his neck.

“I’m glad I followed Mother’s advice to go to mass every week and
take every sacrament available to me. Vampire bitch, what good are you when
there’s a cross to keep you back?” He brought up his gun and pointed at
Jemma.
Then, with a clang, a piece of grating fell from above and hit Anglus
on the head, knocking him to the ground. Jemma looked up and saw Maureen
waving at her from where the grating was once affixed. Her stout cubicle
mate was holding the metal stake that she had brought out earlier. “Here!
You might need this!” She tossed it to Jemma.
The vampire girl caught it just as Anglus had raised his gun, aiming
for Maureen above. Immediately after, she threw the stake and it shot
through the machine pistol’s casing and mechanism, taking the gun with it
on its journey to lodge itself on the concrete wall.
Before Anglus could get up, Jemma stepped on his wrist. The terrorist
leader managed a punch with the other hand, which she easily blocked and
stepped on with her other shoe. With both hands trapped, his only choice
was to kick her from behind. But before his foot could make contact, the
vampire girl’s hand darted behind her and caught it.
“Sorry, Mr. Anglus, but your little end here.” With a twist, she
dislocated his knee.
He yelled in pain, and when Jemma released him, he clutched his legs
in a crouch.
“Freeze! Police! Hands up!”
Jemma raised her hands and stepped away from Anglus as a fully armed
SWAT team burst through the doors of the building. Behind them was the
owner of the building, Arnault Grantsfell, and a familiar leather-clad
figure.
As the combined SWAT team and police dragged out the terrorist group
and ushered out the relieved group of civilians, Jemma and Greeva embraced.
“I guess your message didn’t come in time, sis.” She had referred to
the text message that Jemma had sent on her cellphone before she came out
of her cubicle, instructing her to inform the police of what was happening
in the Grantsfell building. “Text messages don’t travel as fast as they
should.”
“That’s okay. I’d say you were in time.”
Greeva watched the terrorist group being led out. “You took on these
guys by yourself? You sure had a lot of guts to do this.”
Jemma smiled and kissed her sister. Then she felt a hand on her
shoulder and saw Arnault Grantsfell with a cheerful smile on his face.
“The other employees say that you were responsible for the
apprehension of these hooligans. Is there any way I could repay you?”
Then the shout of Maureen’s voice distracted them from above.
“Hey! Could anybody help me down?”
“Mr. Grantsfell,” said Jemma with a mischievous smile. “I wouldn’t
say I handled all of this by myself. I had a lot of help from someone.”
**********
Jemma could propped her legs on top of her maple wood desk, and
sipped on a 200 cc. pouch of blood with an extended spout which could be
used as a straw. With Brackman’s firing and the consequent job vacancy, it
seemed only fitting that Jemma be the replacement. Now she was able to make
accommodations in the office for her own convenience, like an “Hide the
garlic” sign in every cubicle, and an arrangement with the clinic to
provide her with 400 cc. of donated blood every week. Now that she was the
one greeting people who were late, she made sure to avoid the manner of her
predecessor.
The latecomer she greeted tonight was Maureen.

“Your alarm clock rang late?” Jemma giggled.
“Nah. Bus had a flat and I had to wait for the next one.”
“Oh, I see. I’ll just log you in as on time.”
“Thanks, dear. You’re so kind. I passed by the clinic as you wanted.
Here.” Maureen smiled as she handed another 200 cc. pack to her supervisor.
“How does it feel to be the boss of the nightshift?”
Jemma grinned and did her best impression of a British accent.
“Bloody good, mate. Bloody good.”
-- END --

Night Girl

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Night Girl

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Carlos F.

Fernandez III 6000 words

A knife suddenly gleamed in front of Jemma. “Well, well, what do we have

“Come here pretty bitch...”

The gaunt man in front slapped the hand aside.

“Hey! What you do that for, Brank?”

The man lowered his hand. “Sorry, boss.”

“On the contrary...” said Jemma, the men’s expressions changing at

will be beating the crap out of you dickheads.”

that held the knife.

The gangster’s eyes widened as his would-be victim’s visage altered.

what the hell are you?”

I’ll just call myself the dark side of conscience.”

Brank’s knife clattered to the ground. He was trembling without

control. “Please, don’t... please...”

“Late again, I see.”

sneak in without anyone noticing her. Unfortunately, he was there, and

nervously in front of her.

“Uh... yes sir.”

“Remember that your performance and behavior represents that of the

be replaced. Now you wouldn’t want to be replaced, would you?”

“Yes... I mean no, sir!”

Jemma shared her completely cubicle with a fellow online

ear. “That old fart grilled you again, huh?”

the whole ball game rolls the wrong way.”

unless you’re a bootlicker yourself?” Jemma replied.

“Yep. The state of employment in the 21st Century.”

“Isn’t it so hot and sweaty under that?”

really. I... don’t sweat that much.”

torrents. I should probably be thankful I don’t have your disease.”

“Then I should be thankful I don’t have your healthy form.”

called photo-, hemo-something, whatever? I was never good with medical

Maureen’s head frowned with concern. “Oh, that’s a such a wonderful

thing to be deprived of. I’m sorry about your condition.”

containing a list to check. “Here’s your batch.”

eyes. “That’s around the time you came in.”

broadsheets are getting to be like tabloids. Sensational and weird.”

Jemma smiled to herself, and then refocused her attention on the

monitor before her.

“I have.” Jemma glanced from over a Frontiers of the Dark paperback.

to be part of a mortal’s company? You’re a vampire for squeaking out loud,

you don’t need to work!”

can be, unencumbered by a lack of pride… no, arrogance… in their unusual

capabilities or a mindless blood-thirst that clouds one’s wits. If given

hatred to the world forever, sis. ”

either side. “Either you’re an idiot or you’re malnourished. We’re

dealings with us will always be ruled by fear?”

cross on the cover design.

me. I just hope you’re lucky enough to survive it.”

Jemma smiled and embraced her sister. “Don’t worry, I will.”

opened it, and looked at it while holding her chin.

arrived at the office.

“Thought I didn’t need to see your legs anymore?” said Maureen.

“Couldn’t help it. I guess corporate politics affects people in

dressing sexy moves you up at work.

affixed on her legs.

Almost like a corpse’s!”

Oops. Jemma had forgotten to put her hose. No wonder it seemed to be

Maureen still had an incredulous expression. “I can’t help gawking at

continued the day in Maureen’s slightly oversized hose, which required a

tug or two at times.

with made the vampire girl nauseous.

“What’s that you’re eating?”

“Garlic Lover’s Feast Pizza from Shackley’s. Want some?”