Chapter 8

A half-hour later, Kelly had moved into the brick walled Club Manager's office. Direct sunlight didn't shine through its frosted glass window. She now sat in the swivel chair behind Valerie's desk. The desk lamp was switched on. Dylan stood just inside the open door, cautiously watching her.

She ignored him, while facing the knee-high fridge in the corner to her left. The fridge had a lock on its door, and the lock was shut. Valerie had told Dylan that a six-pack of blood was behind the locked door. She'd also told him that the pack contained the "good stuff".

"It's okay Dylan." Kelly spoke with annoyance. "I'm no longer hungry. You don't have to stand as far away from me as you can get, any more."

"Right."

He remained in place.

"I don't need any key." She'd told him. "All I need is a hammer to break the lock."

"Break Valerie's lock?"

Kelly spoke sharply, "If she's got any complaints I'll buy her a new one!"

She began opening and shutting drawers in the desk.

She asked, "Do you know if Val's got a hammer in here?"

"I'm sure she does." Dylan said uneasily, "At least somewhere here in the Club. I've never had to look for one in here before."

"Well stop hanging out in the doorway and start looking!"

He began poking around the shelves along the wall.

"Excuse me Kell." He said, "You've been in here for hours, but you didn't think of looking for a hammer until now?"

"Until now? I've just come back from being brain dead Dylan! My mind was clouded, until I drank that blood you gave me!"

"Right. I'm sorry."

She said, "And once I get into the fridge and drink the 'good stuff', my mind should be clearer than ever."

He stopped poking around the shelves, turned and looked at her.

"And what does a clear thinking vampire have on her mind?"

"What's on my mind, is figuring out what I'll have to do, to get away with drinking the good stuff, straight from its natural sources."

Sounds came through the doorway, from the out on the main floor. A guy called out.

"Dylan? Kelly?"

She turned the swivel chair and now sat facing the doorway, extending her fangs, which poked out between her upper and lower lips.

Dylan raised an open hand in her direction, making a calming gesture.

"We're in here Brandon!" He called out, "In Valerie's office!"

Brandon Walsh appeared in the doorway, with his right hand gripping the handles of a bulging plastic shopping bag at his side.

"Hi Dylan," he spoke calmly, "And hi..."

Kelly had rolled backward in the swivel chair, away from the desk, moving out of the lamp's direct light.

Brandon hesitated for a long moment. "Why Kelly, what big teeth you have." He spoke without amusement.

She told him, "All the better to you know what, Brandon!"

"It's okay." Dylan told him, "She's no longer hungry. I've given her enough pigs' blood."

Brandon lifted the plastic bag. "And I've brought more."

Kelly pointed. "Just leave it on the desk."

Brandon, her boyfriend for the present, moved cautiously forward, carrying the plastic bag that bulged with heavy plastic containers. He placed it on the desk top, then quickly backed away, and stood beside her former boyfriend, Dylan.

Kelly rolled up to the desk in the swivel chair. She spread the plastic bag open with her fingers and looked inside.

"Good." She said, "I'll take them with me, along with what's in the fridge."

Dylan said, "Take them with you? Where?"

She looked up at both of them, and spoke with hesitation.

"Do either of you have any suggestions?"

Brandon and Dylan looked at each other puzzled. Then they looked at Kelly again.

She told them, "If one of you can get your hands on a Vampire's Handbook, it might identify some safe places where vampires can go to live, or go to be undead."

"Vampire's Handbook?" Brandon added, "Where would you find one?"

Dylan said, "I spoke to Valerie on my cellphone about a half hour ago. She said she got her copy at Wolfram & Hart Headquarters."

"Wolfram and Hart?" Brandon repeated. "Isn't that some major law firm?"

"Wolfram and Hart Corp," Dylan told him, "is a vampire owned and operated corporation that provides goods and services, including legal services, to vampires and other beings who go bump in the night. Val said that its Legal Department employs vampires as enforcers."

"Enforcers?" Kelly asked, "Does that include Harmony? The one who did this to me?"

Dylan nodded, "That's what Valerie said. It's a place that's best for all of us to avoid."

"Not all of us." Kelly spoke, "Not for me. Since I'm already a vampire, I can go on down there tonight, and pick up a Handbook. Then I'll have some idea of what I'll have to be dealing with. I can pick up a few copies for both of you, and everyone else."

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Brandon asked, "Everyone else?"

"Right. David, Donna, Brenda and Steve. Then you'll all know how to deal with me, and we can avoid trouble. She added, with a whimper in her voice, "I don't want to lose any of you as friends."

Dylan shook his head, "I don't know Kell. From what I've heard about Wofram & Hart, it's not all that safe for vampires either. If you do go down there tonight, there's no telling if we'll ever see you again."

"But I need that Vampire's Handbook!" There was a predator's growl in her voice.

Brandon spoke nervously. "It might be posted on the internet. Do you want to give it a look?"

He pointed to a laptop computer that lay open on the desk. Kelly pushed aside the plastic bag with the blood filled containers, picked up the computer and placed it in front of her. Then she switched on the device, logged on to google, and typed in the words "Vampire's Handbook", and then tapped "google search".

"There are 325,000 entries." she told them. "I'll have to narrow it down."

Dylan asked, "Gonna take a while huh?"

She sighed. "I don't know where to start."

"Try Wolfram & Hart's website."

She took his advice. In less than two minutes she said, "I've got it."

Brandon and Dylan came over beside her cautiously, and looked at the laptop's screen.

Kelly had logged onto the home page which displayed the title, "The Vampire's Handbook". Beneath that was the subtitle, "Being a Vampire Doesn't Have to Suck." Beneath the subtitle a smiley face with fangs was displayed. Under the smiley face a blurb appeared saying, "What every new vampire should know."

"Okay!" She said, "Let's see. 'Table of contents.'"

"Guys." She told them, "It looks like I really am gonna be here a while."

"Right." Dylan asked, "Is there anything you'd like us to do, while you're studying it?"

"Well for one thing," she spoke sharply, "You can get back to finding a hammer, and breaking that lock off the fridge!"

"Right!"

Dylan resumed poking around the shelves along the walls of the office, and searching through file cabinets, while Brandon left the office, to look for a hammer somewhere inside the building.

Brandon was back in less than five minutes, with a claw hammer in his hand.

"It was on the shelf under the bar, just where you might expect."

Kelly remained seated at the desk, gazing at the laptop s screen. Dylan was back beside her.

He said, "We ve found some very interesting things on this website."

"And very useful." Kelly added. "There's a very long list of places where anyone can purchase pigs blood. I won t have to bite anyone human."

Brandon said, "That's good to know."

"There are also some places listed, where I can go to purchase some of the good stuff , canned or bottled, anytime."

"Canned or bottled?" Brandon asked, "Does that mean that you won't have any problem being a law abiding vampire, or will you?"

"Well. There will always be the problem of temptation."

Dylan backed away from her, and moved over beside Brandon, who stood just inside the open door.

She grinned at both very nervous looking guys, with her fangs extended. "But if the temptation becomes too strong; there are certain websites listed here, where I can make reservations to go on hunting trips."

"Hunting?" Brandon asked, "For blood of the human variety?"

"What else?" She told him, "Here it says 'The good stuff'. I assume that's what it means."

Now Dylan spoke. "I know whose blood I'd like to go hunting for, and it isn't anyone human; or at least no longer human. I'd like to ram a sharp wooden stake into that Harmony Bitch, for doing this to you, Kelly."

She said, "Forget it Dylan!"

Brandon agreed, "You'll be biting off too much. You go after her, and then every vampire at Wolfram & Hart'll be coming after you and maybe the rest of us."

"Don't worry you two." He told them, "I'm not going off half cocked. I'm gonna be getting myself the right kind of help."

"Like who?"

"People who know how to fight vampires." Dylan said, "Kelly, will you check and see if this Handbook says anything about any people, or organizations who actually fight vampires?"

Kelly checked further.

"I've got it." She said, "Right here in L.A. There's a detective agency named "Angel Investigations."

Dylan asked, "Can you give me their number? I'll give them a call."

Brandon said, "Wait Dylan. Before we call in any vampire hunters, let's make sure we've got Kelly in a safe place first. We don't want them going after her too."

"Right. Okay Kell, check again. See if there's any place, within reasonable distance, where a vampire might be reasonably safe."

She did as he asked. Then she said, "The nearest place recommended is Sunnydale."

"Sunnydale?" Brandon said, "Right. It is known as 'Vampire Town'."

"Except, " she spoke further, "Sunnydale is also the home of Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer herself."