From Dusk Till Shaun
PART 1
"Poor John and Bernie… Still cant believe they're gone…" Michael said, staring at the burned-out remains of the Winchester. As their cousin, he was legally the owner of the pub after their demise, but he wasn't sure if he even wanted to re-open the place now… Too many memories attached to it.
As he turned to leave however, a figure In a hood stepped in his path, smelling of sweat and booze, Michael was immediately put off by the stranger. "Scuse me…" He said politely, moving to go around them.
"No, excuse me Michael…" The stranger said with a Spanish accent, freezing Michael in his tracks.
"Wait… How did you know my name?" He demanded, stepping back to face the hooded man.
"Well I am interested in re-opening this pub." He said plainly.
"Its not for sale, I'm planning to tear the whole building down."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that… Good thing its not going to happen."
"What are you blabbering on about? I think its about time you jogged on, wanker." Michael said, crossing his arms.
The last thing Michael saw was glowing red eyes and a flash of pearly white fangs as they lunged for his jugular.
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Three weeks later, Shaun and Liz were strolling down the sidewalk, heading towards their flat. "Shaun… I've been meaning to ask you something…" Liz started, sounding apprehensive.
Shaun, knowing that tone, responded guardedly. "Sure, what is it?"
"How- Um… How long do you really intend to keep Ed locked up in the shed?"
Shaun stopped, looking incredulously at her. "What do you mean? Ed is my best friend, I cant kick him out."
"I didn't mean kick him out Shaun, I mean maybe we should turn him over to the Z-Day rehabilitation people. I mean, its not like his training is going well, if you beat him at 'Halo', he tries to bite you."
"That is not true… He only does that when I turn the game off…" Shaun said sheepishly.
"That's exactly my point Shaun… You cant train him yourself. He needs to go with professionals, and if he cant be trained, he needs to be put down so he can be at peace."
"But I just cant bare the thought of those damn 'zombie whisperers' locking him up…" He said, hanging his head.
"Look, Shaun, babe… I'm not saying do it right now, I'm just saying you should THINK about it for awhile is all."
"Yeah… Maybe your right Liz… God, I just miss havin' him around is all. Maybe if the pub was still around we could get him used to people again…"
Just as the words left his mouth, they passed a flyer hanging from a lamp post. Shaun's very limited attention wouldn't even have registered it at all except for the name on the top, 'Winchester Pub'
Shaun stopped dead in his tracks. "What the hell?"
The flyer was an advertisement for the re-opening of the Winchester Pub under new management.
"How? John and Bernie was zeds, we saw it ourselves." Liz said, confusedly.
"Maybe their cousin Michael decided to re-open it after all." Shaun suggested, reading the info.
"Who?"
"Oh, John's cousin Michael was going to have the building torn down, but I suppose he re-opened it instead…" He said, smiling. "At least SOME things are going to get back to normal."
"Want to go have a look?" Liz suggested.
"Absolutely!" Shaun said happily.
The two of them crossed the road and hopped on the next bus uptown.
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In the basement of the Winchester, things weren't going as happily.
"So whom do you serve?" A female voice with a Spanish accent demanded.
"Santanico Pandemonium…" Michael responded with a flat-toned voice. His complexion was ghastly pale now and his eyes had a yellow tint to them. He almost looked dead…
The person before him was a gorgeous Spanish woman with jet black hair that reached down to the small of her back, she was dressed in a partially see-through evening gown, obviously intended to get attention… She smiled, turning to her hooded partner. "He's one of us now."
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At that moment, Shaun and Liz stepped off the bus and joined the large crowd of people gathered outside the re-built Winchester. Shaun was excited that he and Ed's old watering hole was about to become their NEW watering hole as well… If he could get his bitey friend to calm down a bit.
As the doors were opened, the crowd of people moved in, everyone going for tables immediately, Shaun and Liz however, went right for the bar stools, which, while not the best seats in the house, were the most comfortable. However, the interior of the pub, Shaun soon realized, was NOTHING like it had been before. Rather than the half-circle counter he remembered, there was one stretching all the way across the left-hand wall and most of the room was dominated by circular tables near a large stage with curtains.
"What the hell have they done to the place?" Shaun asked, looking around.
"I dunno, but it looks more like a strip club now…"
Shaun blinked once. "Hang on… How do you know what a strip club looks like?"
Liz smiled, blushing slightly. "Well I had to make tuition money for college…" She started, but was cut off by the lights dimming.
A huge muscular Mexican man stepped out on stage a moment later and called for everyone's attention. "And now, for your viewing pleasure, the mistress of the macabre, the epitome of evil… The most sinister woman to ever dance on the face of this earth!" He said, throwing his arms wide. "Lowly dogs, bow your head… Kneel and worship at the feet of Santanico Pandemonium!!!" He said, stepping aside as the curtains parted.
Shaun and Liz watched as a beautiful Spanish woman stepped onstage wearing an evening gown and a large cloak. She pulled the edges in around her and flung them wide again, revealing a snake that had somehow manifested underneath.
The music began to play throughout the bar as the woman began to dance seductively and Liz rolled her eyes. "Well doesn't that figure… A nice cozy pub gets turned to-" But she stopped when she realized that every man in the pub's eyes were transfixed on the woman with the snake. "Shaun?" She said, tapping him. He didn't respond though, he too was staring at her like the others.
Liz growled angrily and stormed over to the counter to the bar tender, who happened to be the burly Mexican from the stage. "Lager please…" She said flatly.
"All we got is Chango." He said, pouring her a glass.
"What the hell has happened to this place?" She said to herself, looking over at Shaun again. She'd expected him to realize what a wanker was by now… But he was still ogling that woman… "Something isn't right here…"
Liz stormed up to the stage and stepped right up. "Look, I hate to interrupt, but I think there needs to be some explaining!"
Santanico stopped dancing, looking at her as though she was a bug. "Who is this mortal that interrupts me?" She demanded, looking over at the bartender who was hurrying up to the stage.
"Apologies mistress… She came up while my back was turned.
"Liz!" Shaun said, now free from his hypnotic stupor. He came up, pulling her to the side of the stage. "What are you doing?" He inquired, smiling nervously at everyone else.
"Something is wrong here, Shaun, who are these people? Why is she dancing with a snake for god's sake?!"
"I dunno, but why did you need to interrupt? You should have just said something to me!" Shaun said.
"I tried, but you were too busy nursing your boner!" She retorted, shoving him aside and storming off.
"Liz…" Shaun said, trailing off. He looked at the patrons of the bar, then at the bartender and the dancer. "Sorry bout this." He finished, hurrying after her.