Captain Vampire Serial appears below, after Wish You Were Here
Wish You Were Here
by Luigi Pagano
The postcard from Oliver showing blue sky, golden sand and with the inevitable legend ‘Wish you were here’ was, Sue said, a sure sign that our dream of an idyllic holiday was now a reality.
Her fiancé had booked our flight and reserved first class hotels in Singapore and our ultimate destination, Bali.
My boyfriend Brian had also been invited but he was afraid of flying. With Oliver still abroad, it was left to us or rather to my best friend to prepare for the journey.
“Don’t worry about a thing Cathy, I’ll see to everything.”
And the everything consisted of a complete new wardrobe for both of us and new suitcases. She even did the packing.
The economy flight had been overbooked so we were upgraded to business class. That made the long journey much more comfortable.
I am still baffled by what happened next; the custom officer who searched our luggage was shouting and waving some white plastic pouches.
“A cock-up of some sort’, said Sue, ‘Oliver will sort it out”.
He did not, and was nowhere to be seen.
We are now in the Changi Drug Rehabilitation Complex waiting for our consul to come and rescue us.
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Luigi Pagano
Luigi Pagano is an 80 year-old, Italian born, dilettante who usually writes poetry and occasionally bits of prose. He has published three poetry collections: Idle Thoughts, Reflections and Poetry on Tap.
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Captain Vampire
a Serial in Seven Parts
By CJ Alexander
Episode 6
With the aid of surveillance cameras, I track Renata’s every move. She’s in the gym, or the astrophysics lab, or leaning against the railing of the observation deck. She doesn’t see me, I’m sure of it. She does nothing, not even bathe, that I don’t scrutinize. I suppose I ought to believe she’s innocent.
And yet, every morning, more bodies turn up dead. Who, then? Who’s to blame?
I summon her to my conference room.
“Sit down, Renata.” She complies, makes herself comfortable.
“Speculate for me.” I watch for some sign, some reaction, a twitch of an eyelash.
She shrugs. “It’s like everyone says, an alien blood-sucking insect we picked up on the ocean planet. We’re all doomed.” She studies me, as I struggle to control my emotions. Then she goes on the offensive. “You’ve been stalking me, Captain. I want to know why.”
“Renata, there’s a killer aboard. I have every reason to believe it’s a woman. Someone small, like yourself.”
“Surely you’re not accusing me of murder!”
Defensive now. And a temper….while I take a moment to gather my thoughts, she blurts: “You’re the killer, Captain. You’re a vampire.”
“Ridiculous!”
“I’ve been watching you, too. You never eat, so how do you live, hmm?… I plan to report your crimes to the Hierarchy, if I get out of this room alive.”
I can’t help it, I gape stupidly for a second, thinking, Here’s our killer. And she’s a plant! But why? “Tell me, Renata, why are you on this mission?”
She smirks. By all that’s unholy, are those the tips of tiny fangs? She slouches in the chair, grinning openly.
“The Hierarchy appointed me to conduct a secret investigation.”
“But you’re not a member of the Hier-”
“I’m a consultant.”
You mean, spy.
“I don’t understand. Why did the Hierarchy hire a ‘consultant’ instead of a bona-fide astronaut as second in command?”
“Two reasons.”
My veins, cold and lifeless though they be, fill with frost.
To be continued
