Vancity vampires, p.1
Vancity Vampires, page 1
D.G.R.
Vancity Vampires The Collection
Copyright © 2022 by D.G.R.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
D.G.R. asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
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Contents
Forward by RW Duder
Newborn Chapter 1
Newborn Chapter 2
Newborn Chapter 3
Newborn Chapter 4
Newborn Chapter 5
Newborn Chapter 6
Newborn Chapter 7
Trainee Cheverie
The Taking of Patrick Steadman
Paranoia Chapter 1
Paranoia Chapter 2
Paranoia Chapter 3
Paranoia Chapter 4
Paranoia Chapter 5
Paranoia Chapter 6
Ansel
Rex’s Diner
Hunter Chapter 1
Hunter Chapter 2
Hunter Chapter 3
Hunter Chapter 4
Hunter Chapter 5
Hunter Chapter 6
Hunter Chapter 7
Hunter Chapter 8
Hunter Chapter 9
Hunter Chapter 10
The Puzzle
The Player
Night Things Chapter 1
Night Things Chapter 2
Night Things Chapter 3
Night Things Chapter 4
Night Things Chapter 5
Night Things Chapter 6
Night Things Chapter 7
Night Things Chapter 8
Night Things Chapter 9
Night Things Chapter 10
Night Things Chapter 11
Night Things Chapter 12
Night Things Chapter 13
Night Things Chapter 14
Haven
More Books by D.G.R.
Forward by RW Duder
Damien Richard and I met in 2019. You know the expression, the student becomes the teacher? That’s what quickly happened for me as my intended mentorship of him turned into a great mutual respect and admiration for each other. As it turned out, we also were writers. It wasn’t what introduced us nor brought us together and yet we both write horror. Horror fanatics are quite a bunch aren’t we? We have our own sub-genres that we love and tropes that we chase and weird dark rabbit holes of content we sometimes explore. But we are just regular people… sort of.To find a like-minded, genuine, fiercely emotionally intelligent individual with whom you connect with… over horror… what are the chances? As they say in New York, Forgeddabuddit.
Damien and I began a relationship of reading, editing, promoting, discussing, and building each other’s stories. Currently my backlog includes 11 horror novels, 2 series’, and a number of projects planned for release in 2023. From my first horror release of Desolation in 2014, it was another four years before I published my second and third novels simultaneously, Amy and The Art of Dying. Just before Damien and I began to mentor each other through the voracious jungle of indie authorship, I released Captive. So 50% of my work I’ve actually written, released, marketed, and sold in the last three years. I owe much of that prolific content to Mr. Richard.
Make no mistake though, I could not and would not associate myself so closely as an author with someone whose work I did not completely enjoy. As a reader, as a cinephile, as a gatherer of popular culture content, I needed to make sure that in order to give back what he was willing to give my work, I needed to truly enjoy the content.
Vampires. As soon as I say that word you have an image, a perception, an expectation, an experience that you relate to vampires. They are so ingrained in our culture that nearly every person, but especially fans of vampires, have the perfect ideal vampire tale they enjoy.
I was sixteen when the 1994 film Interview with the Vampire came out. My local video store I frequented held every new release for me every Friday. I’d go from school, straight to the video store and gather my treasures. I was such a regular that they always included the R-rated films for me as well. Having led a very sheltered deeply religious life before the age of 14, this was my first experience with a whole new plethora of films.
This is the time I fell in love and became obsessive about horror as I invested hours into the Halloween series, Friday the 13th, Child’s Play, Hammer Horror and the completely bizarre horror films like Chopping Mall or Jack Frost.
I don’t remember being a vampire fan or really knowing much about vampires prior to 1994. Interview with the vampire blew me away. I was hooked. It started a passionate frenzy down the vampire rabbit hole. First came the novel. In addition to being a total cinephile even at 16, I was a voracious reader. I had recently discovered Stephen King and now Anne Rice. I devoured her series. Anne Rice’s vampire world directly influences how I see vampires today. Bram Stoker’s Dracula, obviously. You have to see where the lore began (although whenever I read Dracula I’m admittedly underwhelmed.)
Vampires are literally everywhere in popular culture and it’s because we love vampires. I love vampires. That being said, I like my vamps a certain way. To each their own, but I like them dark, mysterious, eccentric even.
When it comes to Damien’s Vancity Vampire series, I got to see the beginnings and evolution of what it became. I was a reader from the early drafts and have since read the series again at least twice.
I’m sure you can all agree that if you’re a fan of the vampire, you have a certain expectation of how they should be portrayed. For most of us, it’s a traditional, classic vampire but with allowance for unique traits or abilities or situations. The first in the Vancity series, Newborn, nailed every single thing for me. It’s riveting, it’s thoughtful in its creation of the world they live in, where vampires very much exist.
What makes Newborn and the subsequent sequels so good for me is the characters. You’re literally dropped into these two brothers’ lives at various stages. You see the impact of the childhood trauma and how it follows a man his entire life. Jonah is a man of great moral fiber who will go to great depths and risk becoming what he hates the most.
The crux of the entire series for me is Eldon. While the series immerses you in the lives of these two brothers, there is the darker side. Eldon is the personification of a great vampire. The evil is what really gets under your skin and stays with you after you’ve finished. The darkness that surrounds the vampire in the series is haunting. It’s the devil in the details. The way the vampires speak, act, kill, leaves you eagerly anticipating their next move. All the while you’re completely invested in the lives of these two brothers over the course of decades and how this completely chance encounter changes their very lives forever.
Listen, if 10,000 hours make you an expert at something, I’m an expert at horror. I’ve watched at least that in films, not to mention my own writing I’ve spent years on. I’ve been an active member of the horror community for many years. Vancity Vampires puts the myths and legends squarely in the streets of Vancouver for a battle over human lives that not all will survive. Not only do the backbone of the stories resonate with horror fans and vampire lovers but the short stories included in the omnibus tie it all together in a perfect blend.
Damien Richard’s world is a fantastic, cutthroat, edge-your-seat ride and an absolute gem for horror readers.
Newborn Chapter 1
Jonah had been waiting weeks for this night, just so he could see the look on his brother’s face. It had taken a bit of legwork, but that was okay— he and his brother had made it. They. Were. In!
Jonah and his younger brother, Jimmy, followed Chad down a dark employee corridor that was not nearly as well maintained as the theatre’s public areas. Unlike the lobby and theatre, there was no carpet back here. Most of the lights were burnt out, and one even flickered like in a bad horror movie. The floors were sticky from spilled pop, though, so at least that was the same. Jimmy had been obviously nervous walking through the unfamiliar halls, and honestly those lights were a bit creepy, but Jonah had given him a pep talk when his brother started to look a little scared. Bolstered, Jimmy beamed with excitement again. After all, it was opening night!
Jonah held on to his little brother’s hand. Jimmy could barely contain himself! They were about to skip all the lines and see the last Star Wars, Return of the Jedi, in theatres on opening night. People had been camping outside of the theatre for the last two days just to ensure they got in. Jimmy had wanted to be out there with them, to be the first in line with Jonah. Their parents quashed that idea pretty quickly. They thought it would be just fine to rent the VHS when it came out next year, or at least wait until the movie hit the dollar theatre in a few months. Parents didn’t understand, but Jonah knew better. Science fiction was Jimmy’s life, and Star Wars rated above all other sci-fi worlds. So Jonah came through, because that’s what a big brother does.
At fifteen Jonah was in his last year of junior high, while Jimmy was only in grade four. De spite the age difference, the brothers were pretty much inseparable when they weren’t in school. They played video games, read comic books, and took piano lessons together. Next year Jimmy would probably start taking guitar lessons alongside Jonah as well. Jonah couldn’t wait until Jimmy’s hands were big enough to reach around a guitar fretboard. For now, Jimmy practiced piano while Jonah played guitar.
They were best friends. There was no way Jonah was going to let Jimmy miss out on the opening night of the last Star Wars movie if he could help it.
Chad sat next to him in science class and, naturally, was his partner for collaborative assignments. He knew Chad worked at the White Rock theatres, and it had only taken a little bribery to convince Chad to sneak them in. Jonah just had to introduce Chad to the school jazz band’s drummer, Melanie. Jonah had even put in a good word for him. They had set a date for next weekend, since Chad didn’t have to work.
Chad pushed open a door that let in the light and buzz of a cinema full of excited movie-goers. People had even dressed up for the occasion. Boys wore lightsabers and girls had their hair in tight braided balls on either side of their heads. Where Jimmy had been apprehensive of the grungy corridor, his face lit up with pure joy at the sight of everyone ready to take in the movie. Chad ushered them to a set of three seats where another girl sat in the White Rock Cinema uniform.
“Sylvie,” Chad called to her, “This is my friend Jonah, and his little brother Jimmy. Can you make sure they keep these seats?”
Sylvie nodded. That was good enough for Jonah. He took the seat next to the girl, which gave Jimmy the aisle seat.
“Chad must really like you,” Sylvie stated flatly.
“Why’s that?” Jonah asked.
“This is going to be the biggest movie of the year, if not the decade. These seats are supposed to be reserved for ushers, and I can guarantee every employee in here wants the seats you’re sitting in.” She said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Some of the guys are stuck watching Chained Heat right now, and I doubt they’re happy about it.”
“So why let us stay?” he asked. Jonah couldn’t help but be a little nervous. If Sylvie wanted to kick them out, she had every right.
“You’re cute.” She smiled at him, “And I like that you obviously went through some trouble to get your little brother in here”
Sylvie leaned over Jonah to look at Jimmy, “You a big Star Wars fan?” she asked.
“Yup,” he said with a huge grin.
“Who’s your favourite character?” she prompted.
“Yoda!”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, cause he knows all the Jedi secrets.”
Sylvie let out an adorable laugh, and Jonah joined in.
A great movie, and a cute girl! Jonah was sure tonight was going to be a good night.
* * *
Eldon woke. It had been a long time since he had taken to the ground to sleep. Instinctually, he knew not to open his eyes or mouth. For five nights he had lain with Patrick, feeding the man his own blood. Tonight, his new protégé would rise as vampire. His vampire.
Anticipation filled Eldon. He needed to feed, and he wanted to teach his newborn how to eat as well. A meal had been arranged and was ready and waiting. Had he not been underground, Eldon would have licked his lips with eagerness. He could feel his dead heart thump just once in anticipation. He craved the sensation of it pumping as his teeth sank deep into flesh.
As he had each night when he went to ground with Patrick’s human corpse, he had encircled his arms around the body, transferring himself into it, changing it. Yet something did not feel right now. Eldon stretched his hands through the earth, searching, and finding nothing.
Faster and faster, Eldon pushed the dirt away. His vampire strength moved him easily through the earth to the surface. The ground should have compacted overnight, but Eldon could feel that it had just been disturbed moments before. There was no doubt––it had been disrupted by the vampire Eldon himself had just created.
As he breached the surface, his hands ceased their digging and instead hoisted him out of the dirt in one fluid, serpentine movement. At the sight before him, he opened his mouth wide in a hiss of rage. His protégé was gone.
The night before, knowing his newborn vampire would need to feed, Eldon had gone back to his usual hunting grounds on East Hastings. The derelict and destitute are the weakest of mind; the vampire’s glamour can easily be pushed on them, bending them to his will. Even the most taxing of demands will be done without a hint of doubt, once properly glamoured. Eldon had done exactly that. The two homeless men had been sharing a homemade cigarette when he found them. The cigarette looked like it was rolled with left-over tobacco emptied out of the butts discarded in the mall’s ashtrays.
The task had been easy, the glamour firm. The two men left that night. They had walked the long way from East Hastings, through Vancouver’s downtown, and into the neighbouring city of White Rock, where Eldon’s protégé had lived. The men had rested above the vampires, waiting in the graveyard for the vampires to rise. Eldon had envisioned that he and his newborn would feed together, Eldon showing his new son his powers and the joys of feeding. That was not to happen.
The two old men still remained, both cold and lifeless. Their throats had been ripped open. Gore covered both bodies. This was not good, and certainly not a good omen for what was to come.
Even some of the bats that constantly followed the vampire were gone. Many remained but some must have joined Patrick when he left.
Eldon needed to find Patrick, but couldn’t chance that the bodies of the two men were found, particularly near Patrick’s creation site. Some of Patrick’s DNA would have been left behind in the ground during the past five nights of Patrick’s transformation.
The older vampire handled the two bodies easily. He tossed them into the hole he had created upon awakening, then tossed any belongings in after them. The hole was deep, almost seven feet down. The two men would likely never be found, if anyone even thought to look here as disturbed dirt is a common enough sight in a graveyard.
Despite the mess of the killings, there was not much blood or gore on the ground. Patrick must have greedily ingested every scrap he could before leaving the graveyard. Of what little gore remained, Eldon could do nothing but hope it went without notice until rain washed it into the ground or the graveyard’s scavengers claimed their own paltry meals.
Although he possessed the enhanced speed common to his kind, the clean-up had still taken precious time. With the task complete, Eldon was free to hunt. The smell of Patrick’s kills was easy to pick up in the night air, and soon Eldon had isolated the trail leading towards White Rock’s small city centre.
Eldon launched himself into the night sky.
Newborn Chapter 2
Jimmy could not stop talking about the movie. To his brother’s delight, Jimmy bounced on the balls of his feet, chattering away.
“I can’t get over how cool that bounty hunter was!” Jimmy exclaimed.
“Yeah, I like his suit, but I wonder how he’s supposed to see with that helmet on.”
“Because he’s an alien! He’s got to be.”
Jonah laughed at this. His brother was always good at filling in the gaps if something in a science fiction world didn’t make sense. Usually this meant Jimmy would just give the blanket statement of “aliens” but that was okay, Jimmy was likely right. Even when they found out otherwise, Jimmy was happy to say that it easily could have been aliens.
“You’re probably right,” Jonah said.
“Do you think it’s really over?” Jimmy asked. He stopped walking and looked at his brother very seriously. “I mean, just because the Emperor and Darth Vader have been defeated, doesn’t mean the Empire is just going to fall apart, right?”
“Who knows, we’ll just have to wait and see,” Jonah said and gave his brother a big smile. He knew Jimmy loved the mystery of it.
This was obviously the right answer because Jimmy smiled brightly and started bouncing along again.
Jimmy continued on briefly about what he’d loved about the movie, but before long he moved into more familiar things about Star Wars that he thought were cool. Above all else, Jimmy loved the Star Wars technology, especially the way the X-wing opened and closed its wings, the tools used to repair the ships, and the laser rifles.
