Darlene and Sandi's Adventures in Bridgeport: Part 2

“Sandi, you won’t believe what happened at work today. Emmy Starr - Sandi?”

It wasn’t like Sandi to go out without letting Darlene know first. She always texted Darlene if she thought she might still be gone when Darlene got home from work. But she was definitely gone.

Darlene tapped out a quick “Where are you?” text, not worrying too much just yet.  This was unusual, but she figured Sandi had probably just lost track of time. But when 9:00 pm rolled around and Sandi still wasn’t home? Then she started to worry.

Darlene went out looking for Sandi. She checked all of her usual haunts: the library, the butterfly garden, the laundromat, the beach, and the grocery store. She called Sandi’s boss to make sure she hadn’t gone in for overtime. But she had no luck.

Then she started to think. Where else was there to go in Bridgeport? Really just the bars and clubs, and most of them hadn’t been open yet when Darlene got home. Still she checked at the couple that had been open. After a couple of months, she’d gotten pretty friendly with most of the local bartenders, and the one at Waylon’s Haunt was no exception. Shockingly, she had seen Sandi.

“Yeah, she came in a few hours ago. She seemed a little bit… off, though. Like she wasn’t herself. And then she left with… one of them.”

“One of who?”

The bartender gave her a strange look. “I keep forgetting you’re not from around here. Look, don’t go looking for her. Either she’ll show up or she won’t, and you don’t want to get on their bad side.”

“Who are they? Why don’t I want to get on their bad side?”

 “I’m not saying anything else. Find someone else to bother about it.”

Reluctantly, Darlene went home.

--------

When Sandi didn’t return that night, Darlene was nearly frantic. The next day at work, it was all she could think about.

At lunch, she related her conversation with the bartender to her co-worker and tentative friend, Tiara Angelista.

“Your friend was taken? Really? I mean, I’d heard they did that, but I thought it was just a crazy rumor.”

“Who are they? I’m getting really sick of asking.”

Tiara looked around nervously, then lowered her voice. “Look, I really shouldn’t be telling you this, but if your friend was really taken, you need to know. I didn’t always work in film. I used to fly a lot further under the radar, if you take my meaning.”

“You were a criminal?”

“It was a long time ago, but to them it probably feels like yesterday.”

“Why? Who are they?”

Tiara took a deep breath, then leaned forward. “Have you ever heard of vampires?”

Darlene frowned. “Of course I have, but what could they possibly have to do with this? They’re just stories. Fairy tales.”

“Not in Bridgeport, they aren’t. They’re immortal. Preternaturally fast. They can read minds, and even influence them…”

“And they drink blood to survive. You realize this sounds insane, right?”

“Maybe, but it’s true. They’ve got plenty of people who willingly offer blood, but some of them… some of them like to do it the old-fashioned way.”

“Kidnapping.”

“They find a sim they like, influence them, feed on them for a few weeks, and when they get tired of them, they either drain them dry or let them go back to where they came from.”

“So where would I find these… vampires?”

“I’d check at Plasma 501. It’s a bar just for vampires and, well, those hoping to meet vampires. I’ve heard there are all sorts of secret passages underneath. Whoever took her might be keeping her there.”

“Seriously?”

“It’s a place to start.”

“I still don’t know if I believe you.”

Tiara smiled sadly. “You will soon.”

Author's Note: I had a lot of fun in Bridgeport, but it's starting to get seriously glitchy, and I've only been there about three days. I had the same problem when I was shooting Becoming Nyx. I love Bridgeport, but it just breaks my game too much for me to ever let my legacy family live there. 

Anyway, this little short story is going to be in four parts, the last of which is almost entirely vampire lore. I'm going to try and publish the next two chapters over the next couple of days, then close the heir poll after that. So if you haven't voted yet, please get your vote in! Even if you haven't quite finished reading the first generation, there's a summary of both children's plots in the heir poll. I want to make sure that everyone has the chance to vote before I close the poll, so the heir is an accurate representation of your opinions.