Storm

Storm

                The heavy rain and strong wind rattled the windows of the house noisily. Huddled inside were three people - a hazel-haired woman and two men. At least, they looked like men - the woman, Starla, knew better.

                The two men were shape shifters, able to swap between a monstrous shape and 'human'. There were a few little oddities in their human forms that Starla had noticed - one of them had no eyebrows, and the other occasionally changed eye colour and hair tone. The latter was weirder, but somehow less noticeable.

                Her 'targets' probably thought they hadn't been made, and that Starla's arrival was a stroke of luck. Food having their car break down right outside their door on the same day they planned on leaving? Amazing.

                Starla was actually there to poison the two of them. To do so, however, she was acted like a complete victim. Normally the creatures would drug their targets and carefully extract a small amount of blood to drink. Their victims would be fine and usually have no idea what had happened.

                Problems only occurred when the creatures readied themselves to move to a new location. Instead of taking only a small amount of blood, they would drain their victims dry and leave a heap of bodies behind. Only when that part of their cycle began did their presence become obvious - catching them earlier was rare.

                This time, it wasn't early. About a dozen people had disappeared over the past couple of weeks. A curious citizen with the right connections had found a body and brought in people who could help. Starla worked for those people - mostly handling dangerous tasks.

                Her job that night was a suicide mission. The aim was to trick the murderous monsters into drinking a large amount of her blood, causing them to accumulate a large amount of poison in their systems. The poison would at least slow them down and had a reasonable likelihood of killing one or both of the greedy creatures.

                "So your car broke down across the street?" asked one of them. He'd introduced himself as Vlad. Starla'd had a hard time not laughing at the name, despite her boss's assurances that 'they're nothing like vampires'.

                "Ahuh," said Starla. "I saw your veranda and that your lights were on so I rushed over here."
                "Pretty good choice," said Vlad. "A lot of the other houses around here are empty. We'll check out your car after the storm dies down. We might be able to give you a hand."

                "Thanks! I called the RACV, but they're so busy they can't send someone until tomorrow," said Starla. "I might call a friend if you guys can't do anything."

                "I'm sure you'll be fine," said the other. He called himself George. "Would you like a cup of tea while you wait? We have coffee, too."

                "That would be lovely," said Starla with a small smile. George bustled off, leaving Starla alone with Vlad.

                "Have you got a torch in your car?" asked Vlad. "We have a couple but I think they're packed up for the move."

                "You guys are moving?" asked Starla. "No - sorry - that's dumb. I can see lots of boxes. I guess moving out rather than moving in, though." The small dining room Starla had been welcome into had boxes stacked up beside empty shelves and furniture - only a few trash magazines were lying around.

                Vlad chuckled. "Yes, moving out. So do you have a torch?"

                "I think so. I think I have one in my emergency kit, and I definitely have a big one I borrowed a while ago. But it might be flat."

                "That'll do. The truth is we probably don't know any more than you do, but I have picked up one or two things over the years."

                Starla smiled. "You're very kind."

                "It's hard to turn away a stranger in need."

                A loud thunderclap caused both Starla and Vlad to look out the window. "That was close," said Starla.

                "Very," said Vlad. "I'm surprised we didn't see the lightning from here."

                George returned from the other room with three cups of tea. "I figured I'd make us all some. It's a special Earl Grey blend," said George. He passed Starla a cup, then set his and Vlad's down.

                Starla immediately took a sip. "It's nice!" she exclaimed. It really was nice, although it could have done without sugar. Whatever had been slipped into it was probably tasteless.

                "I very much enjoy a cup of tea," said Vlad raising his and taking a sip. Starla was pretty sure he hadn't actually drunk any. George, however, gave Starla a friendly nod and took a big gulp.

                "He'll say his savouring it, but he's really just not that big on tea," said George.

                Starla giggled. "So what do you guys do? Are you together or?" asked Starla. She drank some more of her tea - may as well get it over with. George's hair had changed colour again; it was now a deep shade of brown.

                "Well - no, no we're not together. Housemates and old friends," said Vlad. "We work all sorts of jobs because we move around a lot. Whenever the mood takes us."

                "At the moment we're working at rival supermarkets, strangely enough," said George. "Or we were. We'll need new jobs after our move."

                "I move around a bit for my job," said Starla. She finished the last of her tea. It was definitely affecting her - she felt pretty drowsy. It had also dulled the light pain caused by the poison in her veins. "It's a pretty good one." She yawned.

                "What do you do?" asked George. He seemed curious.

                "Hm?" asked Starla. She was really getting sleepy now. "I uh. I think I might take a nap and wait out the storm guys." Blinking her eyes repeatedly helped stave off the sleep.

                "That's alright," said Vlad. "We'll shake you awake when the storm's over."

                Starla nodded vaguely as she slipped into unconsciousness.

                She woke up on a hospital bed, surrounded by people. They were the 'medical staff' of the people she worked for - they'd put the poison into her system in the first place. "Hey," she croaked. A bolt of pain in her neck stopped her from saying anything else.

                "Alive already?" one of them asked. "The transfusion's only... Seventy percent complete."

                "She just talked. She's alive," deadpanned another - the doctor. "Don't try to talk - just relax until the transfusion's all done. Jun, turn down the pump - her heart's back."

                Jun, who had spoken first, nodded and fiddled with one of the machines Starla was attached to. One of them was connected to tubes full of blood that was pumping away, filling her veins back up.

                "Quick summary of what happened," began the doctor, "The two nasties took the bait. Drained you drier than a desert then drank your blood like the water in an oasis. It wasn't enough to kill either of them but it was enough to knock their lights out. They didn't get a chance to wake up.

                "There were a couple of problems getting you here and cleaning up, but that's all dealt with now. You've got a nasty cut near your throat we've patched up which is why you shouldn't talk, and a deep cut along each of your forearms. They're the cuts they used to bleed you out.

                "Now, I'd say any questions but you really shouldn't talk. I'm going to check over your wounds now that you're alive to make sure nothing has gone wrong. Blink twice if you understood what I've been saying."

                Starla blinked twice. "Good, good," replied the doctor. "Now try not to wriggle!"