Sisters of Fate

"I changed into running gear and headed out to run. One of the reasons I'd picked the neighborhood that we lived in was because it was very close to both a park and had a great school system. The park would give me trails to run on and even though we didn't have kids yet, the high school gave me a track, for track workouts. From the looks of things now, we probably wouldn't be having any kids to worry about. I really doubted that my marriage would last the month.

"The only reason I hadn't confronted her that day was because I needed leverage for the divorce. It's really strange that in the greatest country on the face of the earth, a country that prides itself on truth and justice for all, we don't know how to handle a divorce fairly."

"Divorces in this country are all about women and sex. If a woman cheats on her husband, even though he didn't get any pussy, he gets screwed. He ends up losing at least half of their assets even though he didn't do anything wrong. The victim gets further victimized."

"On the other hand, if it's the guy who's screwing around, then he gets screwed twice. He gets to fuck his secretary or whomever and then he gets screwed by the court system. If I went into court with a bunch of he said/she said and my gut feeling that Terri was cheating on me, I'd lose badly. Even if I went into court with a statement from Crystal proving it, that wouldn't be considered to be conclusive proof either. I wished with all of my heart that it had been Terri I had caught in that car. This entire charade could be over with already."

"As I ran along the trails in the park, I tried to think about my next move and how I wanted my life to go. I went home and picked up the sword I usually practiced with. Terri had been right about one thing. It was too damned chilly outside for me to go out there without a shirt on."

"Even after the run which would usually put me in a mellow mood, I was still keyed up. I decided to just work on forms. In Japanese styles, they call them Kata. In Chinese styles, they call them sets. What they are is groups of movements that mimic an actual battle to hone a set of skills. The Kata that I worked on was developed by my Kenjutsu Sensei. He was very modern in his teaching and stole from everywhere. He always told me that if you steal from one source it's plagiarism, but if you steal from many, it's research."

"So when he developed this Kata for the Katana, he included several different styles of Japanese swordsmanship, but he also included some Chinese sword skills, a few Korean sword moves and even a few lunges and thrusts that he'd taken from European fencing."

"As I lost myself in the movements, all of my problems seemed to melt away. I leaped and slashed and thrust. I parried and sidestepped and ducked. And in the end, I was victorious. None of the imaginary bastards I killed got up and not one of them was able to put his blade on me. In my mind, every one of those imaginary bastards looked like the faceless old bastard who was screwing my wife and had destroyed my marriage. I truly did not believe a word of the bullshit that Crystal had given me. What kind of fool did she take me for? All of that crap about Terri not fucking this old guy made absolutely no sense. But it didn't matter, because I had her helping me whether she wanted to or not."

"There was also the fact that even though she was probably lying to me, I would keep my word to Crystal, but I was sure that somehow she'd get hers in the end; cheaters always do."

"As I finished my drills, I noticed that Terri was standing there."

"I never get tired of watching you do that," she said. "I always imagine us back in the past, with me wearing one of those beautiful hoop dresses and you fighting for my honor."

"I had to bite my lips to keep me from blurting out my first thought."

"What?" came from my lips. And she smiled thinking she'd surprised me.

"I'd been about to ask her what would I have to fight over since whores don't have much honor. But I held my tongue."

"I went into the kitchen and made myself something to eat."

"I thought that we'd just order a pizza," she said. "Maybe we can talk about what's bothering you."

"It's just stress," I said. "And some kind of bug, maybe."

"Honey, you need to find something to let off steam. Maybe go out once a week or every couple of weeks with your friends. My girl's nights out do wonders for me."

"I'll bet," I said. "Maybe you're right. Some of the guys at work play cards every week. I'll see if I can get into their game."

"When I said, "I'll bet," she got nervous. I could see the way she tensed up. I threw the bullshit about playing cards in to put her back off of her guard but I'd gotten the reaction I was looking for."

"I don't know if it was guilt or genuine concern, but for the next few days, Terri was on her best behavior. She filled my head with how much she loved me, whenever she wasn't whining about us not having sex. She also talked about us getting away and taking a vacation to someplace romantic. I wasn't buying any of it."

"When her next girl's night out came around, I got a phone call from Crystal."

"Jason, do I have to go tonight?" she asked. "Going out to a bar with guys hitting on me isn't the kind of thing a married woman should do."

"If a woman wants to stay married, she should be able to handle the temptation," I said.

"What if we just started having the girl's nights at one of our houses?" she asked.

"I really don't give a rat's ass what you do after I get my divorce," I said. "But until then, it's business as usual."

"Jason, I don't think she's ever going to do it again," said Crystal. "Lately she's been more and more upset. She thinks that you don't love her any more. She keeps going back and forth between thinking that she's done something wrong to thinking that you've found someone that you love more. Why can't you be considerate of her feelings?"

"You mean the way you were about Ed's." I spat. "Or the way she was about mine? Just do what you're supposed to and maybe you won't get hurt in all of this. As a matter of fact, if any guy hits on her, you should encourage her to take him up on it."

"Why the hell would I do that?" she asked. "Are you crazy? Do you really think I'm going to encourage her to do something so you can dump her? Why the hell would I do that?"

"Because if you don't help me get rid of her, I'll help Ed get rid of you," I said calmly. "You already know the game; all you have to do is play it."

"You really aren't very nice," she whined. "This was only for fun, she loves you."

"Well she got to have all of the fun," I said. "All I got was hurt. Giving some of it back won't make me feel any better. I'm not going to feel better for a very long time. But at least I'll know that it's over. And I can start to rebuild my life."

"What about rebuilding her life?" she asked.

"She can go out and fuck anybody she wants," I said. "So she'll be getting exactly what she wanted. And at least SHE had a choice in how this all started. So I think it's only fair that I get to say how it ends."

"Shit, why don't you just take a gun and blow her fucking brains out," she said.

"I don't own any guns, but if she wants one, I'd buy it," I said.

"When Terri got home that evening she was nervous."

"Terri, I know this is your girl's night out," I said. "...So would you mind very much if I went and played cards with the guys, tonight?"

"No Honey," she said. "I don't mind at all. I'll probably be home early though. The nights out with the girls aren't as much fun anymore. Maybe we should switch to date nights. You know, one night of the week where you and I go out and do something together. We could alternate who gets to pick what we do. And then at the end of the evening, you could try to get me drunk and take advantage of me." She smiled and looked at me.

"I pretended that I didn't have clue about what she was talking about."

"You wouldn't have to worry though," she continued. "For the right guy, I'm a pushover. I'm a real GP date."

"GP?" I said. "You mean like PG. Doesn't that mean parental guidance?"

"No silly," she laughed. "PG movies are boring. GP stands for Guaranteed Pussy, for the right guy of course."

"Who would that be?" I asked. "

"She started laughing and then she looked at me. I wasn't laughing."

"You, of course," she said nervously. "If you don't want to, we don't have to do date nights."

"Let's just see what happens," I said.

"She got ready to leave and came over to kiss me goodbye. As she puckered up, I turned my head and caught her kiss on the cheek. She just looked at me and told me to have fun with my card game."

"As soon as she left the house, I left too. I knew where she was going and I knew where to park so there was no need for me to follow her and risk getting caught. Besides, even if they'd switched to a different bar, I could simply call Crystal and find out where they were."

"With it being fall, it seemed to get darker even earlier every week. It was already starting to get dark as I parked my Mustang. I parked it near a really interesting looking Chevy. As I walked towards my usual vantage point, I saw it clearly for the first time. It looked like a guy in a fucking cape had just climbed up the side of the building next to the parking lot and on an angle to the front of the bar."

"Who did he think he was, Batman?"

"It just seemed ironic to me. Some clown in a costume skulking around on the rooftops, while I sat out here in my jeans, freezing my ass off while I watched my marriage go down the tubes. He did this to get his jollies off pretending to be a superhero while I was forced to do it by circumstances that I really wished had never happened."

"I ducked between two parked cars so I could watch. It was also good because the cars kept most of the blowing wind off of me and kept me warmer."

"I watched the scene in the bar and things were just beginning to start. The place was still pretty empty except for Terri and her friends. Three of the women at the table, a younger, really cute one, a middle aged one that looked like she was already drunk and a fat one, who looked like she was trying not to be self-conscious were up and trying to dance. The younger one was in the middle and she appeared to have some moves. She gyrated her hips in a way that most strippers would be ashamed of. The older, chunkier women tried to do it and just looked silly."

"I noticed that Crystal and Terri seemed to be talking. Crystal was making all kinds of emphatic gestures with her hands as she spoke. Terri looked depressed. I began to think that maybe she truly regretted what was going on. But then again, perhaps it was simply a case where she could tell that I was pissed at her for some reason. Then as I looked at Crystal, who was practically screaming at Terri, I got angry. If I didn't know any better, I'd have sworn that Crystal was warning Terri about what was going on."

"I called Crystal. As I watched her, she picked up her phone and looked at it."

"Hello," she said.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked.

"Even as I watched, she got up and walked away from the table."

"Are you telling her that I know what is going on?" I asked. "Because if you are..."

"No," she pleaded. "She's just so down. She thinks that you've fallen out of love with her. This is your fault you know. You're doing a shitty job of pretending everything is normal. I just told her the truth. I told her that if she really loves you, she should fight for her marriage and not let you get away. I'm telling you the same thing. Instead of just letting some guy take your woman, you should fight for her."

"If I'd had a chance to fight for her, I'd have done it gladly," I said. "The thing is that I never had the chance to fight for her. She did it all behind my back. And what good would it have done for me to fight for a woman who willingly gave herself to more than one other man? If she intends to go out and fuck strange guys, she's within her legal rights to do so. And I'm within mine to divorce her. People have a right to do whatever they need to make themselves happy. I'm only sorry that I wasn't enough for her. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I have the right to try to get out of a situation I'm unhappy with and you have your choice in what you want to do too. If you double cross me, you'll be sorry, so stick to the program."

"As I turned back to watch Terri, I noticed that she was sitting at the table with her head down on it. She clearly didn't want to be there. I remembered her telling me that the girl's nights weren't as much fun anymore.

"Then I watched a guy pass by in front of the bar. It was the weirdest thing I'd ever seen. Even as he walked, it seemed as if he spurted across the walkway. It reminded me of that strobe light effect. I'd see him and then I'd see him again but he'd be ten or twelve feet further down from where he previously appeared. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. Somehow I just sensed that this was going to be a problem."

"He seemed to be older than most of the people heading towards the bar and that set off alarm bells in my head. Almost as if on cue, the bastard stepped inside the bar and although I had to really concentrate to see him among the other patrons, he wasn't hard to spot. He raised his arm and Terri stood up as if she was a puppet connected to him by hidden strings."

"She started moving towards him as he turned and headed for the door. He paused outside of the bar, with people milling around going into and leaving the bar. Terri walked out of the bar robotically and stood in front of him. He took her by the arm and started walking her around behind the bar. "

"I'm not sure of how I still felt about Terri at that point, but there was something weird going on here. As he led her towards the darkness of the alley behind the bar, I was moving before it even registered. I also noticed that my reactions were off. I think it was then that I noticed that I got a headache when I looked at the guy too closely."

"As I crossed the street and headed towards the alley in pursuit of Terri and the guy, I heard footsteps behind me. I ran into the alley and fortunately the moon was up. Although all of the lights back there were out I could see well enough to make out my surroundings and what was there. There were a bunch of homeless people back there. They were sitting on empty crates and trash containers. They also looked at me as I ran into the alley."

"Hey," I screamed.

"He turned around and sneered at me. Terri didn't even react to my presence. I knew then that there was more to this than just a case of cheating. She was drugged or mesmerized or something like that. She didn't even know who I was. Her eyes were vacant. Only he registered."

"Get the fuck away from my wife," I yelled.

"He growled at me. It was like he was an animal or something. He started looking around and the homeless people started to become more animated. I guess that was supposed to be a warning or something. I felt weird. Everything in my brain said run. My mind told me that I was done with Terri anyway. But something else told me to stay."

"No one had ever taken anything I wanted away from me, ever. I was about to get rid of Terri's cheating ass anyway, but I wouldn't allow someone to take her."

"He turned back towards Terri and she leaned her head backwards. He leaned in as if he was going to kiss her neck and then I saw his teeth. His canines were elongated and he opened his mouth far wider than should have been possible. The word vampire flashed through my mind. I didn't miss a beat. I reached down into the muck of the alley and grabbed the biggest rock that I thought I could throw. I chucked it at him as hard as I could and it smacked him in the side of the head. I routinely threw knives and even throwing stars as part of my weapons regimen. The rock made an extremely solid sound as it hit him. I expected it knock him out and possibly kill him, but shit, there were no witnesses back here except for those homeless people. And even if there were, he'd tried to attack my wife; fuck him."

"I'm not sure which one of us was more surprised when the rock hit him. He'd been wearing some cheesy wrap-around sunglasses and the rock knocked them off. His clothes were dirty and out of style. His shaggy hair was limp and lifeless. His fingers ended in claw like extensions that bore more resemblance to the claws of an animal than they did human fingernails. An unholy odor emanated from him."

"The smell was like the sickly smell of death mixed with the earthy odor of raw earth, with a touch of raw sewage thrown in for shits and giggles."

"As the cheap shades fell off of his face after being shattered by the rock, his mouth opened and he growled loudly. There was a big bruise on his head where the rock had struck him and his head twisted to the side as if the impact had broken or sprained his neck. There was an audible clacking sound as he straightened his neck out. His eyes glowed. They were a sickening red color as he looked at me."

"My mouth dropped open in shock at the same time that his did in indignation. We regarded each other with mutual, yet differing versions of the same thought; surprise. He was surprised that I was still there. I truly believed that he expected whatever mental projections or thoughts he was trying to influence me with to have made me leave and forget about Terri. At the same time, if his mental trickery hadn't worked, I should have been so terrified that I should have gotten the fuck out of Dodge."

"At the same time, I was gobsmacked that being hit in the temple area with a baseball sized rock thrown as hard as I could hadn't killed him or at least knocked him out. And as I watched the huge bruise on the side of his head seemed to be healing at a rate that was miraculous. Within only a few moments no one would be able to tell that he'd absorbed a blow that should have easily killed him."

"He threw Terri to the side and swung his arms at me. He had no technique to speak off but he was blindingly fast. So what, I was fast too. At least I'd always thought that I was. The only thing that saved me was his pure rage. If he'd calmly swung at me and used those claws, I'd have been dead. I was able to dodge his first two wild swings but he had me on the retreat and pushed his advantage. I sidestepped the first swing, ducked the second and caught the third by blocking it with my stomach."

"I've been hit in the stomach by some really big, really good fighters. I'm not an unarmed combat expert, I specialize in weapons. I love swords, knives, axes, spears, maces, clubs and everything else you can think of except firearms. But I frequently spar with boxers and MMA fighters to hone my combat instincts. I have never been hit that hard in my life. I was barely able to roll with it and divert some of the force of the blow. If he'd hit me straight on I'd have died. As it was, the glancing blow flung me back at least ten feet. I landed awkwardly in a puddle of what I truly hoped was mud."

"He roared his anger at me yet again and positioned himself to charge at me. There I was sprawled in the muck, too dazed to get to my feet with an honest to God Vampire coming after me."

"At that moment, when all seemed lost, when I knew that I wouldn't be able to get up to even run away let alone continue to fight, I felt the footsteps next to me. I turned to the side even as the monster who'd bested me with only a glancing blow sneered and bared his animalistic dental work."

"The first thing I saw was a pair of thigh high red leather boots trimmed in white. On the other side of me appeared slightly bigger boots made of thick green leather. I turned back to the red boots and followed them up to find a body dressed in a hooded cloak made entirely of soft, shiny red leather. I couldn't make out a face but the presence was overwhelmingly female."