4

Ruslana got home around 9 o'clock and pulled out her laptop to get onto Fangtasia's website. "Might as well know more about the place," she thought to herself, pulling up the page.

In the search engine she typed in 'Fangtasia'. Pete hopped up on the couch next to her. She flicked on the Television to the local news, and looked back at her computer to see the search results. She found the homepage for the bar and clicked.

An intro pulled up on the screen. A black background the same curly scarlet letters in the corner. It was loading. Ruslana waited. A comic book style vampire appeared on the screen, fangs bared and blood dripping from his mouth. She heard a hissing noise and the vampire's mouth moved similar to that of a ventriloquist dummy, saying in a Transylvanian accent before cackling, "Enter if you dare!"

Ruslana laughed as the comic book vampire vanished and the home screen flew up. The theme of the introduction ran into the home screen. The tabs read, Location, Merchandise, Your Vampires, Tru Blood, Games, and Feeding Policy. Ruslana grimaced at the last tab.

She decided to click 'Your Vampires' first. More tabs arose, labeled Owners, Frequents, and Entertainers. Clicking on 'Owners,' Ruslana saw a picture of a pretty, but also frightening blonde-haired woman. Her name was Pam. No last name apparently. Next to her picture was Eric, looking sinister and with longer hair than Ruslana remembered. Next to Eric was a fat Asian vampire called Chow.

She chose to click Eric first. After all, he was the reason she was even on the website. A small summary appeared under his photo. It read,

A former Viking, the irresistible Eric Northman is the primary owner of Fangtasia. You will frequently see Eric sitting on the Fangtasia's stage in his leather throne. He is notorious at Fangtasia for being the big scary hunk. Do not call him by this name. He is to be referred to as Mr. Northman.

Look, but don't touch. Eric does not accept photographs and does not sign autographs. Approach him carefully. He bites.

"A Viking?" Ruslana said aloud, "Hot damn, he's old! I wonder if that's true." After pondering that for a moment, she clicked on Pam's image.

Pam often serves as bouncer at Fangtasia and is Eric's right-hand vampire. She is co-owner to the bar. Known to wear black patent corsets and skyscraper-like heels, Pam is reason why many return to Fangtasia. Don't be fooled by the pretty face, one would not want to get on her bad side.

Ruslana decided she cared little about the fat Asian vampire Chow, and skipped him. She soon learned that certain vampires frequented the bar. They were likely paid to do so. After all, Fangtasia was designed for tourists who want to get up close and personal with a vampire. It reminded Ruslana of a petting zoo.

She spent the next half hour scanning over the merchandise and games before reaching the 'Feeding Policy' tab. She was scared to click it. After a minute or two she built up the courage and clicked. It read,

A vampire is never, under any circumstances, allowed to feed off of a human while at Fangtasia. Louisiana law requires it this way. Vampires may only feed by drinking Tru Blood. Drinking from humans may ONLY take place in private homes.

"Well, that's a relief!"Ruslana said, petting Pete who was still snuggled up beside her.

A banging at her front door abruptly interrupted her surfing.

"What the hell?" she said, looking across the room at the clock. It was 10 o'clock at night. The pounding continued. "I'm coming!" she yelled.

Outside on the side of the house stood the Vampire Eric. His presence was unknown, once again, to Ruslana. He could see her on the couch with her laptop on her thighs. He could see clearly that she was looking on the Fangtasia website. Laughing to himself, he watched her get up and head to the door after someone wrapped loudly against it.

She peaked out the window before opening the front door. A man was standing in the doorway anxiously. Ruslana appeared to know him.

"What's this I hear about you and a vampire?" he asked bluntly, looking all disheveled with his uniform shirt un-tucked and a pant led stuck on the tongue of his boot.

"Jesus Christ, how many people did Charlotte have to call?" Ruslana said, looking annoyed.

"So its true?" the man asked, pushing past her and walking into the living room. Ruslana followed him, watching as he looked around the room.

"Is what true? And what the hell are you looking for?" Ruslana asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"Is it true you been fraternizing with this vampire? Where is he?" the man asked, continuing to look around with a scowl on his face.

"He ain't here. And I am not fraternizing with anyone. You should be able to tell what's gossip and what's fact."

We'll see about that, Eric thought.

"But you do know one?" tha man persisted.

"I wasn't even introduced to him. All I know is his name is Eric and he gave me a flyer for Fangtasia,"

"Fangtasia?" he asked loudly, throwing his hands in the air, "Aw, hell. My baby sister is a god damn fangbanger!"

So this man was Ruslana's older, and clearly controlling brother. Eric thought about that for a moment.

"Shut up, Ethan. You don't know what you're talking about. I only met that vampire yesterday. He was the only vampire I ever met, too. Aaaand I have absolutely NOT banged a fanger!" Ruslana retorted sharply.

Ethan fell back onto the couch, still looking horribly upset. He was silent, placing his hands over his face.

"Even if I had slept with a vampire, it ain't any of your business! I am twenty-two years old. That means I am a grown woman. I make my own decisions and you don't have a say in any of it." Ruslana added, becoming riled. This made Eric smile.

"Alright, alright. Stop your yelling," Ethan said finally, waving a hand at her. "I don't want you to get involved with their kind."

"I can take care of myself," Ruslana said.

"No! You ain't got no idea the shit I've seen involving vampires. They enslave people, Rus." He urged. Eric was beginning to see this Ethan as more of a threat. He wasn't just an overbearing older brother of his future lover. He was a cop who had experience dealing with vampires. He knew more than Eric wanted Ruslana to know at this point.

"Well they aren't getting away with it, are they?" Ruslana asked.

"Some do, some don't. Not all policemen are willing to stand up to a vampire. Vampires don't like being told what to do, and they especially don't like being told what to do by humans."

"What do you mean enslave people, anyway?"

"I mean, that they glamour people and keep them trapped in a house or a room just for feeding and fucking!" He said.

Ruslana grimaced, "What happened to the mainstreaming movement?"

"God knows! Only a very small percentage of those folks, if you can call them folks, mainstream. The mainstreaming movement is just a political ploy. It is an excuse to justify their existence. That they," Ethan threw up quotation marks with his fingers, "don't have to feed on people."

Now Eric really didn't like this human cop. Ruslana looked frightened. Ethan was ruining his chances of ensnaring Ruslana by her own will.

"They are more frightening than you can imagine." Ethan said

"Clearly," Ruslana answered.

"I'm sorry, Rus. I didn't mean to frighten you, but this is stuff that you should know. Trust me, you do not want to get involved with a vampire," Ethan said as he got up from the couch. He gave Ruslana a hug before heading back outside to his squad car. Eric considered killing that cop right then and there, but he realized that if he did, then he would have to glamour Ruslana into being his lover. He preferred something more real from Ruslana, so he swallowed the urge.

He looked back over to Ruslana as she was shutting the door. The dog was sitting patiently in the doorway to he living room. She gave him a pat on the head, when the phone rang. The beast let out a howl and Ruslana let out an annoyed, "What now?!"

She reached down to the side-table to pick up the receiver. Eric could tell she was straining to be polite when she said, "Hello?"

Eric shifted his head so he could hear the other person on the other end of the phone. He heard a woman say, "Ruslana?"

"Yeah?" she answered.

"Have you got that vamp at your house?"

"Charlotte I DO NOT have the vamp at my house!" Ruslana shouted. Eric laughed. But I am, he thought. Luckily the dog had yet to catch his scent.

"Jesus, I was just asking! Its just so exciting!" he heard Charlotte reply.

"Not for me! The whole town will think I am a fangbanger, now"

"Come on, you can't tell me you aren't curious," Charlotte replied. Ruslana paused for a moment. Eric smiled.

"Of course I am, but this is a serious matter. Vampires can't be what people make them out to be. They feed on us. Who's to say he won't kill me?"

"Some are nice," Charlotte said slowly.

"Nice, huh?" Ruslana said, "Listen, I would appreciate it if you would stop telling everyone what I told you. It's causing me a lot of trouble."

"I will do my best," Charlotte answered.

"Please," Ruslana said, before hanging up the phone.