"You're really gonna get your ass killed out here one of these days Amelia." 

"Maybe that's the plan." I smiled to myself as I gazed down at the IV pump next to me. I sat up straight in the chair beneath me. It was originally a wooden chair, used to torture beings such as myself but fortunately, my good friend Randy provided an old quilt for me (and removed the wooden spikes hidden underneath) to sit on while I endured this time-consuming procedure. 

Randy stood before me with a cigarette flapping out of the side of his mouth. He wore a baggy black t-shirt along with a pair of cargo pants. I tapped my foot along my other shin to distract me from the veins pulsating underneath the flesh of his tattooed forearms. He shot me an eyeroll as he tossed a towel over his shoulder. "That's pretty idiotic, especially after you got yourself attached to my grandsons." He huffed. Randy was a melancholic man who was now enduring his mid-fifties. Now, don't be mislead simply because of his age, this lap-bouncing grandfather had been a malevolent vampire assassin for over three decades (would have been four but he's never explained why he stepped down sooner than he intended). I was literally receiving treatment inside his old torture room down the basement. 

This place was always a sight to see. He had a glass display of bloodsucker fangs formulated into a necklace on the wall. A polished collection of vampire skulls holstered on the dark wooden walls. Smaller cellars with chains were rested atop one another underneath the staircase. I sat next to a table that had a device used to slowly extract a vampire's fangs, IV pumps full of garlic and holy water, photos of charred vampires laid stacked all over the bulletin board in the far right corner of the room. An arsenal of weapons designed to kill vampires were behind us, my personal favorite had been the helmet designed to shoot holy water into the vampire's eyeballs with the option to use these large iron rods (also built with the helmet) used to impale the eyes of a fellow bloodsucker at the same time.  

"Can't help that they like being around me." I added, raising my head to face Randy. "You know that." I said earnestly.

Randy pulled out a grey fold out chair, spinning it around and sitting in it back-to-front style. He took another drag of his cigarette while finger-combing his short, greying black hair away from his face, his aged brown eyes staring into mine. "I do, unfortunately, I hate that I had to stop my car that night."

Randy had found me a while back while I was enduring my first newborn years as a vampire, he took me in without the knowledge that I was a vampire (thus he was pretty drunk), eventually he realized his mistake and tried to kill me on the spot, but changed his mind. The old bastard still remained vague as to why he hesitated killing me. Now we see each other pretty often, I crash here sometimes after messing around and about at night. Today, he was providing me an infusion that could help my body resist the sunlight over a certain period of days. 

"Anyway, I found what I wanted to know." I chirped, crossing my legs. "Who knew that all I had to do was flash my cleavage...and my fangs." 

Randy rolled his eyes. "Can you get on with it? It's seven in the goddamn morning for fuck's sake." He snapped. "Some people have work in the morning."

"Aw come on!" I replied with fake sadness, shifting in the chair. "Money is never an issue with you."

"Damn head-wrecker..." Randy mumbled underneath his breath, rubbing his forehead. I chuckled at his frustration before sitting back against the quilt.

"Shawn Winchester hired bloodsuckers to kill his parents so he could gain their inheritance. Apparently Shawn also had a meeting with this group known as the Sleep-Walkers. They're a branch of the Bough organization and I've already received a few names." I explained while I dismissively waved my hand. "Never knew a man that  wouldn't beg, cry, and grovel for his life remember?"

"For Christ's sake woman..."

He used the towel to dab at his sweating face. "You shouldn't be messing with them by yourself. I should help-"

I pointed my index finger toward him, "You're going to stay where you are old man." I interrupted him with a glare. "I can handle my own just fine." I added. I didn't mean to be so harsh with Randy, but he had a family and his grandsons had currently lived with him, thus he's retired now. I won't rob those kids of an actual stable guardian just because Randy and I have some coughed up resentment against the Bough organization. The IV pump started to beat rapidly, causing Randy to rise from his chair and check my arm.

"You know that, right?" I asked once more. Randy shot me a blank stare.

"Why are you doing this Amelia?" He asked without looking at me, adjusting and preparing to set the IV monitor to flush my system. "You know that I've been hunting vampires for years so at this point of my life, I can give a shit about some D-grade vampire gang." He continued as he carefully removed my IV, glancing away from my arms as they fell over my old scars. 

If only you knew the half of it, Randall.

I gave him a half-shrug. "I have nothing else to do, really." 

He continued to stare at me as my skin regenerated around the area I had my IV in. I folded my arms over my chest and turned my head away. It was clear to me that he was searching for a deeper answer, though he wasn't really letting many skeletons out of his closet either. 

"Aren't you going to work today?" I pestered, fighting a smirk. 

"Listen here, asshole." Randy grumbled with an evil smile. "If you want to know how my normal life as a human goes, I'm more than happy than to get you hired so we can work in the same facility." He griped, turning to turn off the machine as my flush had been complete.

"Nah that's okay, I like my freedom." I yawned, stretching over the quilt before stepping upward. I turned to face him. 

"I'm sure you do." He grumbled. "Lazy ass."

I beamed, placing a hand over my hip. "Call it what you will, Randy. I have to keep a low profile because creepy little buggers like you are looking to hunt vamps like me!" I added while pointing finger guns towards him. 

"You're insufferable."

I threw my head back and laughed. "Not to the grand-babies though." 

With a yawn, I start stretching my arms above my head. "As much as I love being a pain in your old bitter ass, I have to get going."

Randy removed the quilt off of the chair I was sitting on, revealing a small trapdoor-like cushion that hid away a pit full of wooden spikes. I'm pretty sure he got the reference from some sort of medieval torture device and tweaked it to his liking. He titled his head to the side and raised his eyebrow in response to my sudden goodbye. "Where to again?"

I shot him a toothy grin. "Out."

He rolled his eyes. "If you're going to hunt down one of those vampires, you better be back home for dinner tomorrow." He made a pause while putting away the supplies he had used for my sunlight-reducing infusion. "Mel will be there." He informed me, his voice low and somber as he mentioned those four words.

Every couple of weeks, I swing by Randy's to get these kinds of infusions. Initially, the sun won't directly kill me but it will definitely cause hives, rashes and affect my strength if I'm left exposed to it so long. Randy didn't bother with the details but these infusions tend to help build my resistance to the sun for at least a short period of time. Long story short: I can walk out in the sun without disintegrating for the next couple of days.

It had been my turn to roll my eyes. "Oh goodie, the actual wicked witch of the west is gonna be there."

"Amelia!"

"What?" I replied innocently. 

"She's my daughter." Randy lectured as he plucked the bloody, silver tray of medical equipment off the table and sauntering over towards the dark right side of the basement, his entire frame disappearing in the shadows as I hear him rummaging in the dark. He's been prone to doing a lot of things in the dark as he usually hunted vampires at night. Makes the disposal easier, verbatim from Randy. 

She needs to act like it then. I folded my arms across my chest as I remained silent for a second. "Fair enough." I said briskly before moving to follow him on that side of the room. "I'm assuming you'll need me to stop by the hospital to retrieve some things you need too."

"You'll swing by?" Randy retorted. 

With another pause, I say, "I'll think about it." 

--

The cold afternoon wind blew through my tresses as I idly blended in with the crowd walking down the sidewalk. My hands had burrowed themselves into the pockets of my black trench-coat that was long enough to touch my knees. The rays of light are pretty harsh to my eyes outdoors, so whenever I'm outside, I'm wearing a pair of shades. I felt a tad ridiculous as I'm literally dressed up as a spy. Randy ruled that part as another shortcoming of being a vampire, having to blend in with normal society and maintain a good amount of self-control.

I wouldn't have wasted my time out here had it not been for Randy slapping some last-minute errands on my back, I would've took refuge underneath a bridge or some motel (with whatever cash I had left). I poked at my cheek with my tongue on the inside of my mouth as I slowly come to a halt in front of a device store: Nerd Lair, I glanced down at the paper Randy had given me.

New phone? 

I shrugged before shuffling before the door. As my hand nearly came into contact with the handle, the door is violently pushed open, coming into contact with my chin and the right side of my face. My shades tumbled down my face as collateral damage by I managed to catch them with my hand before they came into any contact with the ground. I glared upward at the culprit behind nearly slamming my face only to stare up at a tall, white bald man glaring back down at me. 

"What a gentleman." I sarcastically broke the silence as I never broke eye contact. He continued to stare at me with cool, deep hazel eyes. He said nothing as he rushed past me, checking my shoulder in the process, earning bewildered gazes from the people behind me that were also waiting to get inside the store. I chuckled stepped inside, not before holding the door so other people wouldn't have to share the same experience that I just had. Love making the other person look like shit after all.

I continued about in the store, un-pocketing the money that Randy had practically insisted I take with me. Within the next couple of minutes I had purchased the phone and continued my journey out of the store. 

This continued for the next three hours. My energy had yet to falter and I had already retrieved most of what Randy had requested on the list. Bundles of shopping bags were bunched at the crooks of my elbows as I had emerged from the bakery as my last stop. It had finally gotten dark outside, the pesky sun would be tucked away on the other side of the world for at least the next few hours. A grin tugged at my grouchy face as I started walking down the sidewalk once more, I hear a series of footsteps behind me as I started my journey down the street. I didn't bother to turn around nor change pace, instead, I kept straight until I had reached the intersection to make a left turn. The sounds of the footsteps never faltered, in fact, they grew increasingly loud as I notice that I'm the only woman walking out and about down this vacant street. 

I was being followed. 

Finally, I felt like today would only drag on without any excitement.