A Stranger

"Hey, brother, I don't feel comfortable in this place," Richard murmured as he glanced at the table where Ethan and the others were sitting. He felt like he was being watched from that table, a feeling he usually got only when police officers were eyeing him.

Seth looked over at the table his brother was staring at and said, "Stop being paranoid. The U.S. police can't do anything to us here; we're fine."

"Hey, Dad, that man's cross looks similar to the one you had." Jacob's son, Scott Fuller, observed the cross around Ethan's neck with great interest.

Jacob then looked in Ethan's direction, and when he saw that cross, his heart sank. He immediately thought, 'What are those people doing here?'

As a former priest, he recognized certain things, one of them being the symbol on those trucks. He vaguely remembered that group being responsible for people who occasionally sought help at his church.

When he asked what they did to the people taken by the S.G.C., the only answer he received was that he didn't have the right to know yet.

He was always curious, but all those thoughts faded after his wife's death and his loss of faith in God, who didn't help him despite how devoted he was to Him.

"Is something wrong, Dad?" Lisa, Jacob's daughter, noticed her father's pale complexion and asked him with some concern.

Jacob turned to his daughter and said, "It's nothing. I'm just getting old. Drinking so much makes my head hurt."

"Then drink some milk, old man. Didn't you say you'd join us?" Seth arrived with another bottle of alcohol.

"I will; it's just a slight dizziness," Jacob said after taking his eyes off Ethan's table, where Ethan, by the way, was simply sipping his wine.

...

Ethan scanned the entire bar; the smell of blood was intense. "This is the place. It seems like it really is a nest."

"How many do you estimate?"

"Hard to say, but around seven hundred."

Bobby looked at Ethan and asked, "Can we hold out until help arrives?"

"We can handle it. I'll take care of all of them without you needing to make a move," Ethan said as he took another sip.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

"Everyone, raise your hands! I'll drink this bottle and as many as I want without anyone being able to say anything to me."

Ethan then looked over at the commotion at the table next to him. It was a surprise: two men pointing their small guns in every direction.

If he remembered correctly, they were the same ones who had beaten the man at the entrance. Now they had come to settle the debt.

But their suspicions were unfounded, as the man wasn't here because of the beating or to seek revenge; he was here because he believed those men weren't truckers.

"Why are you bothering my friends?" Ethan asked before things could escalate and ruin his plans.

"Huh?"

Ethan walked over to those men and said, "We're all truckers. We'll be here for one night, and then we'll leave. Why don't you leave these men alone? You're ruining the party for everyone, am I wrong?"

"We don't need your help." Richard, who looked at Ethan, became even more nervous.

"What's the harm? So far, you've made a mess, and you're testing my patience. If you don't lower your guns and let things calm down, my mood might change," Ethan said, staring intently at the man.

Seth, seeing Ethan intimidating his brother, intervened and said, "I'm curious; what will you do if your mood changes?"

Just as Ethan was about to respond, Jacob intervened and said, "Enough with the arguing. These men are with me, and I have a trucker's license. If you still have doubts, you can go see my beautiful truck parked not far from the entrance."

The vampires wouldn't accept people who might have family nearby; those were future problems; they'd rather not have to continue mining blood in this place.

The vampires' paradise didn't kill everyone, only those who stayed too late. A place that received no visitors wouldn't serve them any good.

Ethan understood this about the place, but if things got more tense, his plan might be affected if the vampires decided not to come out on their own.

"Sorry for the trouble," said the man who wanted to get the crazy twins out of there.

"Hey, forgive my manners. I'll buy you a bottle as a thank you," Seth said after everything calmed down.

Ethan simply raised his glass, sat down, and said, "Now we wait. When it all starts, I'll personally take care of the attack until the team moves in."

Bobby, who was drinking from the bottle Ethan had brought, murmured, "These tables are new; it seems like they were made by an amateur."

"The place is a front. They just eat and stash here; what they have here is everything they've stolen from the truckers," Ethan said as he placed his sword on the table.

He just had to wait until the real party began.