Andy

“Oh my God, how are you doing that!” Andy gushes, sidling up to the table the ghoul is working at. The young man smugly runs a hand over his shaved head, then pulls the shape of the shadow into an … ankh. Boy, he’s really leaning on Andy’s whole goth thing, huh? What is this, the nineties?

“It just takes practice,” he explains, his hand shapes woefully inadequate explanations for the complex forms on the wall behind the candle. While you feel a little bad for Andy having to endure his advances, the other girls quickly use the distraction to slip away. “And being open to the secrets of the dark arts.”

That absolutely horrible line is the last thing you hear as you slip out the back. You’re briefly reminded of the first time you met Andy and grin. Not that you have any intention of killing the guy at the moment, but you seriously doubt he has any idea what he’s in for.

Taking up position at the edge of building’s rear, darkness slips up around you to make sure you aren’t spotted too early. You check your phone briefly, sure to make note of the time in case something inside goes wrong and Andy needs your help. She doesn’t make you wait long, however, as she and ghoul come careening out of the back door, already deeply engaged in each other’s lips. It feels a little perverse to watch her avoid his attempts to guide her, then slam him into the wall. She undoes his pants without breaking eye contact, making sure he’s focused strictly on her, then kisses him harder, pushing her hot, eager body up against him. Dropping to her knees, Andy handily leaves his pants and boxers by his ankles, revealing an already-stiff cock of, you have to admit, not bad size. Still, you know your cue as Andy wraps her right hand around it and slowly starts to tease him.

“I wouldn’t make any sudden movements,” you sigh, dropping the shadows as you step towards them. The ghoul looks up at you, wide-eyed, then complies. Arousal and fear split his attention, trying to figure out if this is a set-up or a possible threesome. Unfortunately for him, it would be the former. “I mean, it’s up to you, but I’ve seen the things she can do with those hands.”

The ghoul looks down at a smiling Andy, who holds a discarded flier for who-knows-what up in her free hand. The lust factor behind his eyes vanishes entirely when it catches fire, then swiftly drifts away in a handful of ashes. She eyes him, then his penis, and locks eyes with him, grin broadening menacingly.

“Drop,” he says, clearly expecting her to. Andy just shakes her head, which only alarms him further.

“Yeah, she can be real stubborn,” you tell him as you lean on the wall next to him. “You know what helps calm her down?”

“W-what?” he stammers, eyes locked on Andy.

“Hearing people answer her friend’s questions honestly. Just so soothing, promise.” That gets him to break his horrified stare, looking up at you. “I need to know some things. About your boss.”

“I’m not telling you anything about him!” the ghoul snaps.

“Well, I was expecting a ‘her,’ so you’re off to a great start,” you quip back. While your voice maintains a confident cadence, the unexpected gender of his boss throws you a little. Theoretically, it could be a pronoun preference, but it didn’t fit what little you knew about Savina. Which means another vampire like you and her is in play. “Come on, you sure it’s worth getting your dick set on fire?”

“I …” he hesitates, glancing down at Andy, who is doing an EXTREMELY good job of appearing as psychotic as possible. “Please, you can’t … I’m just picking up for him, he’s-“

“Picking up humans?” Andy asks, notably squeezing just a little at the statement.

“Dinner! That’s all! Come on, we can work this out, right?” he argues as he winces. “Look, all I do is come down here every once in a while, bring a girl home, and drop her off. If I do a good job, I get his blood. Come on, you’re both vampires, right? I’m just getting him what he wants!”

“Yeah, nothing ominous about that,” Andy says sarcastically, glancing up at you hastily, clearly wanting your approval to fuck this guy up. As much as you want to give her the nod, he hasn’t ANSWERED anything. By design, you imagine. He’s obviously blood bound to the vampire in charge.

“So, it’s a guy when we were looking for a girl, he doesn’t keep his ghouls close to the chest, and he has no problem abducting human women for … I’m going to be optimistic and just say food …” you list off. “Boy, that’s a lot of stuff for someone who wasn’t going to tell me anything about his master.”

“Hey, I said nothing about HIM, I told you what I was doing!” he shoots back, briefly ignoring the fact he’s risking phallic combustion. “Don’t you fucking question my loyalty, bitch!”

“I’m not,” you snap, moving to eye level with him. “I’m questioning your intelligence. For example, what does calling me a bitch buy you here? Or hanging on to technicalities when you’re fucking him over by being so goddamn dumb?” When you get in close, you can see the top of a tattoo on the side of his neck. Numbers?

“Oh, shit, he’s going to be so mad!” he whines, descending immediately from the burning hate he was spitting at you a minute ago. “God, what did I do? What did I do?”

“Um,” you intone simply, then glance down at Andy. She shrugs while the ghoul holds his head in his hands, making a ringing, crying noise. “Listen, if he’s going to kill you or something, we can talk this out. You’re clearly an asshole, but I don’t need you to die. Can you say that about your master?”

Without any warning, he screeches, one of his fists raising to connect with your head. You stumble back in mild shock as you hear a piercing scream, then a quick scuffle before you get slammed into the wall. You consider sending tendrils after him, tripping him up and suspending him to show you the full length of your displeasure … ‘Do it, kill him, rip him apart for his insolence!’ but decide better of it. You lean down to check on Andy, who was thrown bodily on to the pavement of the parking lot.

“Did you get it?” you ask, leaning down to help her up. Andy breathes out, clearly irritated at being pushed around, then unruffles herself once back on her feet.

“Yeah, in his jacket pocket,” she answers, cracking her neck. “Told ya’, by the way.”

“Look, Eva doesn’t go batshit like that every time I’m in danger.”

“That’s because she’s stable, a good person, and you aren’t making her bring you people to eat, which is the best case for the girls that guy's taking home. Most ghouls are clingy, violent, and swing moods like a son of a bitch,” she points out as she unlocks her phone. “The GPS thing is working. I’m guess he won’t notice until it’s too late. I burned him pretty bad.”

“Jesus, you actually set his dick on fire?” You’re equal parts impressed and horrified.

“Just my hands, technically,” she shrugs as the two of you head back to your car. “I can’t set other people’s body parts on fire. Just stuff. Besides, it’s not like I did it to a HUMAN.” You raise an eyebrow, which Andy quickly follows up on. “Because he can heal it, jackass. I’m doing better about that shit.”

“You are. Just have to keep you honest if you want to not be monster-racist.” You swing into the car on the driver’s side, then watch Andy’s tracker as the ghoul pounds pavement wherever the hell he’s going. It’s fifty-fifty it’s to weep in private or back to his vampire to inform him of his grievous error.

After letting him get a good lead, you start to drive slowly along a route that keeps you near him. Andy mostly gives you directions, letting you know if you’re getting too close. Whatever the thing she can do where she sees what inhuman things aren’t fans of, it apparently lets her see in the dark. Or blindfolded, which was a trip to find out. In short, neither of you NEED headlights, but it’s easier for them to be on until shutting them off is practical.

He leads you back Workwick again, the GPS signal running straight towards the student center before slowing to presumably look less like an insane person bolting through the college central. It makes sense, after all. Savina might have turned more than one person at Workwick. And whoever they are, they’ve had a few weeks now to decide how they’re taking to unlife. However, as you park, you lean over and check the ghoul’s status. Seeing he’s headed towards the freshman dorms, the number tattoo you couldn’t make out earlier clicks in your head. You let out a frustrated groan, slamming your hands on to the dash. Well, diplomacy is probably out the window.

“What? What the hell was that?” Andy takes a screencap once he stops moving entirely just in case you lose track of him.

“I’m … pretty sure I know who he’s working with, if not for,” you gripe. “He had a tattoo, four numbers. If I was a betting lady, I’d say they were 1488.”

“That’s Nazi shit, right? Oh, fuck, they probably won’t even TALK to you, huh?”

“Intensely multiethnic, very little of it ‘white,’ Jewish, pansexual, aspiring liberal politician? There’s a chance we won’t get along,” you continue as you both get out of the car. “Well, formerly aspiring. Can’t imagine holding an office now.”

“Eh, you got mind control, you’ll be fine,” she waves off as you take the lead. “Wait, why does that tell you WHO he’s going to see?”

“Because if you’re looking for the root of white supremacist bullshit at Workwick, I know for a fucking fact his dorm’s in that building. And why wouldn’t it be the worst-case scenario, y’know?” you say with a light shudder as you and Andy slip into the bushes and shadows, trying to make your way to the ghoul to confirm if you’re right or not. Either way, Nazi vampires would be a spectacularly shitty development. Even if it wasn’t someone you know for a fact has been sending your roommate **** threats since this summer.