Bodies

Dear reader this is my entry into the HALLOWEEN 2026 competition and I hope you enjoy it.

If you do then please read my others or follow me to receive notification of new stories when I publish them.

A massive thanks:

To the absolutely brilliant and wonderful Ommicron, who beta read the ink off this story.

The lovely Ange who always helps out.

And the lovely Annette who dipped her toe in the Beta reading.

Thanks also goes to Trionyx, whose 'Music Challenge 2026' had me scribbling ideas as an ear worm wound itself throughout my pea of a brain. Once I had it finished, so had the competition closed. I sat on it for a week or two then realised it could be extrapolated into a Halloween story. So here it is after many more pages and rewrites.

So if some of the dialogue seems odd, thank the Nu-Metal band 'Drowning Pool' and their lyrics to their song 'Bodies', which inspired my story.

As always, this is Halloween and the gloves of reality are off.

~~~ Bodies ~~~

In the chill of late autumn, Brenda and Georgie stood out amongst the other revellers making their way down the wide strasse, leading out of Berlin's city centre. Their multi-layered black lace dresses with matching sleeveless jackets and vintage Victorian riding hats starkly contrasted with the colourful Halloween costumes, coats and scarves of others heading out for the evening.

"If that guy in the hotel is right about this club, it should be a great Halloween party."

"Yeah, Bren. I'm loving Berlin."

"Me too, Gee... This is turning out to be the best city break ever."

They searched the myriad of neon signs flashing along the line of bars and clubs, but the closer they neared the large junction at the end of the strip, the accompanying stream of hopeful Party goers thinned out, as did the establishments that wanted their custom, and the more doubtful the two looked.

Finally, the pair sighed with relief as they saw the neon sign announcing 'Club Korper' flickering above a basement stairwell. They paused at the top of the steps, which were grander than the building's main ground-floor entrance, helped by marble balustrades leading downwards.

Unlike the business-like main chrome and glass reception, the club's was a more foreboding, timber-studded door. It was recessed into the stone wall between two stone pillars, giving it a solid, defensive appearance. At its centre was a rectangular hatch that would have been more appropriate in a speakeasy of the US prohibition era than in a European capital city.

After glancing nervously at each other, the two friends nodded in agreement before stepping down in unison. Both shivered at the bottom as the temperature dropped further. The door remained resolutely closed as they approached. Even failing to move when Georgie and then both of them pushed on it.

Disappointed with the possibility of being sent on a wild goose chase, they both shrugged, but then Brenda remembered. "He said to knock three times and give the password."

They shared smiles, and Georgie rapped three times on the solid door.

After what seemed an age, the little wooden hatch flew open, startling them. A pair of piercing black eyes surrounded by way too much black eye makeup surveyed them before a coarse, deep voice barked at them.

"Passwort, wie lautet das passwort?"

The friends glanced at each other, pulling faces at hearing the first real German spoken to them after landing at Berlin Airport yesterday.

The clearly annoyed voice repeated. "Password? You've three seconds to tell me the password... One."

"Let the bodies hit the floor." Georgie told the angry eyes.

"Two."

"Let the bodies hit the floor." Brenda repeated with urgency.

"Three."

"Let the bodies hit the floor." The two women chorused back.

Brenda giggled as she nudged Georgie and whispered. "And we aim to hit that dance floor... hard." The heels of her velvet ankle boots clicked on the stone floor as she wiggled in a small dance in anticipation.

The hatch slammed closed, and the sounds of bolts being shot back struck like hammers on an anvil. The door swung open inwards with ease, and a cold blast of air along with the distant thumping of dance music hit the friends as they ventured into the darkness.

Once inside, the door slammed shut behind them. The pair jumped around in time to see that there was no one there, and witnessed the three black iron bolts slam home, unaided, locking them in. Brenda clutched Georgie's arm as she gasped, "Where's that bloke gone?"

"Dunno," Georgie whispered, as her hands found Brenda's to hold.

"Welcome, ladies." An ice-cold voice cut through the gloom.

The pair squealed in surprise as they spun around to find a tall, beautiful, pale skinned woman standing in the hallway, dimly lit by unseen lights giving it a red glow. Both women fidgeted nervously as her piercing eyes surveyed them.

They admired the lone woman's black dress, which clung to her voluptuous hourglass figure with a plunging vee neckline, causing them to wonder how much tape she had used to keep her nipples and generous, heaving breasts hidden. Her long, open sleeves and mermaid-shaped skirt hung off her, as if she were floating rather than standing.

Their eyes were drawn to her black, pencil-thin lips as she sidestepped to reveal a red velvet shelf illuminated by an unseen source, with three shot glasses filled with a blood-red liquid. She passed one to each of the friends and held the third up in a toast.

"Skin against skin, blood and bone." Her icy voice surrounded them, and she took a sip.

Her eyes bored into the friends, and oddly, they both automatically echoed her words before sipping their drinks. They glanced excitedly between each other as they felt the thick liquid warm its way down their throats.

The ice-cold woman continued. "You're all by yourself, but you're not alone."

"You wanted in, and now you're here." She raised her glass and finished it before placing it back on the shelf.

Both women nodded, whispering their thanks, excited for the night ahead, and followed her lead to finish their drinks. As soon as they returned the glasses to the velvet shelf, the stranger stepped aside to invite the friends to venture through a pair of doors and deeper into the club.

"Thanks, cool drink." Georgie tipped the edge of her hat to their host as they passed.

Leaving the door and the stranger behind them, they followed the thumping beat to hear her whisper icy, cold words. "Driven by hate, consumed by fear."

When Georgie pushed the double swing doors open, they found another short hallway bathed in the same red glow and a second set of doors.

Brenda looked over her shoulder into the darkness behind them.

"And she's also gone. That's weird. Did you hear what she said?"

"Theatrics, Bren, pure theatrics. Like the hotel porter said, it's an exclusive club; there's none like it in Berlin."

"Nor back home. Fuck, it's hell of a Halloween set up, I'm convinced. But so exclusive there's no entrance fee?"

Georgie smiled lovingly at Brenda as her hands, which had clutched her, now caressed her body.

"Bet the bar is extortionate, though."

"Ha, I bet, especially after those free drinks." Brenda's hands returned the favour as their eyes sparkled at each other.

"Raspberry Kraken?" Georgie grinned.

"Nah, more Jägerbomb, with blackberry." Brenda shook her head.

Georgie grasped the lapels of Brenda's cropped, short jacket by the rope-braided lapels and pulled her closer in the way she liked. They kissed, with their tongues probing lovingly into each other. When they broke apart, Georgie held onto Brenda's jacket, revealing the horned skull on her Motorhead tour T-shirt fluorescing in the light.

"See raspberry."

"Nah, I definitely tasted blackberries." Brenda shook her head, licking her thick, black, lipstick-covered lips with the corner of her mouth rising in a satisfied smile.

Brenda's eyes drifted over Georgie's shoulder and recoiled back. "Fuck, there's that woman."

Georgie turned to find a huge gold-framed painting behind her, illuminated by yet another hidden light. The picture looked ancient, as the paint was yellowed and cracked like a dried-up lake bed. But its subject was definitely the pale-skinned woman in the black mermaid dress.

Georgie backed away from the painting, with Brenda using her as a shield. "Sheesh, her eyes."

"They're as scary as they were in real life... But it's got to be hundreds of years old."

Both women shuffled sideways, keeping as much distance between them and the image of the woman they'd just accepted drinks from.

"It must be some sort of special printing process, to turn a photo into an old oil painting. They probably only took the photo last week when they got the dress."

"It is one hell of a costume, but I'm not sure, Georgie. Her eyes are watching us."

"They're scary... Must be some weird optical illusion."

They continued sidestepping, unable to drag their eyes from the piercing black ones following them. They backed into the second pair of doors and pushed them open to dodge through.

Both breathed a sigh of relief as the doors closed on the hallway. Through the door's glass windows, they saw the strange glowing light and the painting's spotlight extinguish. Lights came from behind to encourage them to turn around.

They blinked at the onslaught of club lights and flashing beams of lasers that greeted them, along with the thumping bass beat of a new tune, seemingly louder than the last. On either side of them were two small oyster shell fountains on pedestals bathed in ultraviolet light.

"Cute." Georgie chuckled.

But Brenda gasped. "The water... It's flowing backwards?"

They both examined the nearest, watching the water emerge from the little drain holes at the bottom of the large oyster shell basin and the droplets pulled up in the air to join the central flume to stream down into the upward-facing spout.

"Must be strobes... I saw it on some TV science show once." Brenda told Georgie, but not sounding as convinced as she hoped.

"You gorgeous geek." Georgie laughed as she kissed Brenda's cheek and encouraged her towards the edge of dancers who were oblivious to their presence. They took in the broad vista of the club laid out before them. High above, lights whirled and flashed along with zapping lasers.

"Wow. Look. People like us," Brenda gasped with a chuckle, nodding at the giant pool of clubbers before them.

The friends stood with their arms about each other's waists, taking in the vast dance floor before them. A mass of bare, pallid female flesh and leather-clad muscular men gyrated in a variety of weird moves that clearly weren't choreographed for the latest TV show.

They wore a mix of torn shirts, fishnet, lace clothing and a variety of masks. Almost all wore studded wristbands and collars amongst other stylish bondage-based accessories. Mixed and same-sex couples danced, some at a distance, others with their limbs entwined in tight knots of sexual tension.

Brenda pouted. "But, no one is in costume, that's what Halloween's supposed to be all about, isn't it?"

"Yeah and not just masks, it's a bit lame, they could have made an effort. But there's a lot of people for an exclusive club with a not very welcoming entrance. But it's lucky the music works though."

Brenda bumped her hip against Georgie's.

"Ha-ha, it's great, init? Despite them not really being in the Halloween spirit. Well, we've got it until dawn. Let's get ourselves a drink."

The dance floor was too dense with bodies to cross, so the pair followed the thick black curtains around the outside, with their hands entwined, and headed to one of the well-lit bars.

"This is weird; it's more like a factory inside than the grand mansion the exterior projected." Brenda commented as they dodged past yet another rusty brown steel column.

"For such a busy club, it's as cool as the ice maiden at the entrance." Georgie noticed.

"Yeah, the AC must be working overtime, but luckily, it's turning your nips into gorgeous, hard peaks." Brenda smiled, nodding at the two buttons displaying themselves in Georgie's lace bra on full display, barely camouflaged by the tightly knitted fishnet top she wore.

"They could do with some warming up, but you'll have plenty of time to enjoy them later, lovely." Georgie smiled, blowing her a kiss before she danced ahead.

The number of people crowding the bar didn't reflect their assumption about its high prices, but without any tariffs on show, they agreed on splashing out for this round to gauge the cost of the rest of the evening.

As they hovered on the outskirts of the crowd, the girls attracted more than the usual amount of interest from men, women, and a few androgynous clubbers.

"Still no costumes, maybe it's super-exclusive or maybe the Germans don't dress for Halloween? Have you seen the way some are looking at us?" Brenda asked Georgie in her ear over the beat of the music.

"I know... You don't think this is actually a sex club, and they're all just randy?"

The two clutched each other, giggling.

"You wish... or hungry!" Brenda grinned.

"I prefer horny, as it's kind'a sexy."

Brenda's hand squeezed Georgie's soft butt in agreement as she placed her cheek against hers to bring her lips closer to her ear. "You're more than kind'a." And her teeth playfully nipped her earlobe.

Georgie giggled. "Speaking of which, you're unusually horny this early in the evening."

A gap opened up as two clubbers in front of them left carrying their drinks, but before they could fill it, a white-haired woman in a black leather bodice barged Georgie aside as if she were swatting a fly, and slapped her hand down on the bar to demand a drink.

An annoyed Georgie retaliated, forgetting they were abroad, and ignored the lack of any security, let alone that she might not even speak English. Before she could think, she shoved the woman, shouting. "Hey."

The stranger barely moved in reaction to the force of George's thrusting hands and slowly turned to face the couple. Her pasty-white skin matched her hair, but was in stark contrast to the thick black stripe painted across her eyes instead of wearing a mask.

Brenda and Georgie froze as the woman lowered her head. Steely, fluorescent blue eyes peered over blue lenses of a pair of round wire-framed glasses, causing them to shiver as if someone had walked over their graves.

Her mouth barely moved, but even with the noise of the club, they heard her voice with a thick Slavic accent.

"Push me again... I dare you."

Ultraviolet light caught a sliver of menacing china-white teeth behind her black lips. The friends submissively shuffled backward at the anger aimed at them.

The woman's high-necked leather bodice had a black fur collar and small pointed bra cups, which hid any cleavage she may have. Three chrome buckles pulled her waist in to give her a slim, hourglass figure.

The leather skirt she wore was made up of belt tails, which hung independently of each other whilst barely covering her thighs and fishnet stocking tops, showing off her long, thin legs.

Her eyes momentarily held the pair in a trance as a stab of brain freeze hit them both, causing them to wince in mild pain.

Brenda quickly took the initiative and stepped forward. "Look, we don't want any trouble. We're just here on holiday and looking for a good time."

"I know." The woman answered, but her eyes continued to bore into them from behind her blue lenses. She stood her ground without showing any emotion.

"Why don't you go?" Her head flicked upwards, and eyebrows rose to encourage them to leave. "Tell them the friends you were supposed to meet aren't here, so they must be at another club."

The two women shared worried glances as they both felt an overwhelming desire to leave and join some unknown friends elsewhere.

The leather-bound woman gave the first hint of emotion as the corner of her mouth rose, and before she'd received her drink, she slipped away to disappear into the dancing masses.

Georgie and Brenda were left glued to the spot, allowing another couple to fill the gap at the bar. Confused, the pair clung to each other as Georgie asked. "Did you just have a strong desire to leave and go find some friends?"

"Uh-huh, and yet we're here on our own."

"Weird, eh? I even imagined having a gaggle of girlfriends waiting for us at some bar outside."

"Me too."

The pair remained locked together, unsure whether to stay or leave, as the two scantily dressed, bondage belt-clad men in front turned apologetically to show their faces covered by black leather masks.

"Entschuldigung." They noticed the bemused looks on the women's faces. "Er, sorry, you were here first."

The bare chested muscle bound men moved aside to let the women through to the bar. After politely thanking them, they went to the counter, where a staff member waited for them. They ordered tequila shots and beers, pointing at beer bottles on display that they recognised.

When the shots arrived, they were like the blood-red drinks they had received when they entered the club.

"Uh, sorry, we ordered tequila," Georgie told the bar staff.

The girl looked dumbfounded and shrugged and rang up the till.

"No, we ordered tequila, not these."

The answer was a confused look and a shrug. Georgie pushed their glasses back towards the till, waving her hand over them.

A guy behind them spoke rapidly in German to the woman at the till, who answered with yet another shrug. Her fingers stabbed at the screen, and the price on the screen halved, before she returned the two drinks to Georgie.

The man behind them laughed and spoke in a German accent. "It is on house." And slapped Georgie's shoulder in triumph.

The girls thanked him and nodded in appreciation to the bar staff. They paid with Georgie's phone, before sinking the shots to once more feel the thick liquid warm its way down their throats. They left through the crowd with their bottles of beer.

"I wish we knew what they call those as they do taste good." Georgie declared, smacking her tongue across the lips.

"Who cares? We've had free drinks."

"He did say there were no other clubs like it in Berlin."

"Talk about chalk and cheese." Brenda shook her head. "That woman barges in front of us, and two guys in kinky masks kindly step aside... And we get free drinks, weird."

"Yin and yang, girl."

"The universe balances things out, and we get a cheap round."

They laughed and clinked their beer bottles together in celebration, catching the froth in their open mouths with their tongues hanging out.

"I've got a protein shake you can drink," came a bullish American accent from a tight shirted muscle bound maskless man as he strutted up to them.

"No thanks." Georgie surveyed him in disgust as they turned to move away.

"Aw, come on. We'll have fun. We could have a foursome, couldn't we, Pete?" He nodded to a sheepish, blushing man behind him. "I know he doesn't look much, but I'll make up for what he lacks."

Pete glared at his taller, arrogant friend who openly flexed his chest and arm muscles in various poses at the two women.

Georgie and Brenda politely turned to walk away, but the tall man manoeuvred in front of them as he pumped his biceps up. He lifted his Tee to display a washboard six-pack.

Georgie grimaced. "We're not interested in the Tee your mother bought two sizes too small for you, nor you, in fact. Take the hint and get lost."

"Hey, come on, girls, once you've had a real man, you won't need to bat for the same side again, as you Brits say."

Georgie burst. "No one says that, let alone believes it. I can assure you that there is nothing in that sock drawer crotch in your trousers that we are interested in... Certainly not that scrawny naked mole rat you've been playing with since puberty. So fuck off."

She grabbed Brenda's hand and pulled her into the crowd, as they barely heard the man shouting at them. They dodged through the dancers until they thought they'd lost the two men.

"I don't think they're following." Brenda confirmed, checking behind them.

"Fucking morons." Georgie spat.

Brenda hugged her and pecked a few kisses on her to calm her. The intrusion was quickly forgotten as they danced, chatting and teasing each other. Brenda giggled at an innuendo, blushing as Georgie pulled her in tightly and planted her warm, wet lips on hers.

"Mmm, I'm not normally this horny this early in the night, but you're extra hot tonight."

Brenda's lips danced over Georgie's, lingering as they pecked kisses on each other, giggling. They swigged their beers from the bottles and swayed their bodies to the music with the odd thrust of their hips. In the strange cool of the packed club, the pair built up their own heat.

"Maybe tonight's not normal. But I'm enjoying feeling horny this early," Brenda confessed.

Their free hands drifted over each other's buttocks. The lace they wore didn't protect the soft flesh beneath as they ground hips together, sharing kisses and whispered sexy promises whilst the beat drove their pulses higher.

"Is it wrong to want to satisfy my mistress here in this club?"

Georgie's arm wrapped around Benda's waist to bring her in closer as Brenda lowered her gaze submissively.

"Oh, Bren. You know I go weak at the knees when you talk dirty to me."

Georgie pressed her cheek against Brenda's, feeling the heat behind them, and used her tongue to flick her earlobe up to nibble.

Brenda moaned a soft giggle. "Ah, mistress, you please your poor slut with your attention."

It was Georgie's turn to moan, and she bent her knees to press her thigh into Brenda's dress.

"Fuck, Bren... I want your tongue in me so badly. Your mistress needs you."

The pair's lips danced over each other's as they both exhaled in excitement.

"Here's hoping the powder rooms here are as exclusive as this club!"

"They can't be any worse than the last time you offered in Birmingham?"

"Shit, no. But even they wouldn't turn me off tonight, Gee. I feel so horny.

Georgie shot Brenda a scowl and pinched her backside so sharply she flinched.

"Sorry, my mistress. I will gratefully accept any punishment you deem suitable," Benda whispered in her friend's ear whilst bowing her head.

Georgie bit Brenda's earlobe once more, and said. "Let's finish these beers and go find what state the toilets are in. Maybe then we can talk about your punishment."

Brenda smiled guiltily at Georgie as they separated with a kiss, and eagerly sipped at their beer bottles, with their eyes locked together.

After a few mouthfuls, they both had that uneasy feeling that they were being watched and turned to find a very nervous maskless woman with short black hair, in a 'Guns n'Roses' tour T-shirt and a mini-skirt, staring at them as she hovered close by.

She bit her lip, wanting to speak, but danced clumsily in her ankle boots, clearly looking very much out of her comfort zone.

Brenda bridged the gap for her. "You okay?"

The poor woman almost jumped at them in relief and gabbled at a hundred miles an hour.

"Ah, you're English? Oh, thank God. It's so hard to tell, as you all look so... Well, you know? So goth? I didn't realise it was such a thing. But clearly it is, well, of course it is, but there you go."

As she paused, Georgie jumped in. "Breathe slowly. Take a deep breath and relax. It's fine. What's up?"

"I wouldn't normally come to this sort of place, but my friends wanted me to, and lent me these."

She nodded down at the tee, which they realised was a little large for her, dwarfing her short frame and small breasts. She flicked the hem of her miniskirt out, which she immediately tried to pull down, willing it to lengthen.

"They said it would be fun. Get me out of myself. They went to buy drinks, but never came back, and now I can't find them."

Brenda and Georgie exchanged looks that agreed they both guessed why her friends hadn't returned.

"Hi, I'm Denise. Do you mind if I tag along with you both, as the people here are quite intimidating?"

The two friends glanced around but couldn't see anything untoward. A few people were wearing large, beaked black death style masks, which were unnerving, but on the whole they were just masks, with a few even having black feathers for eyebrows.

"I even had one scary, white-haired woman kinkily dressed in leather belts tell me to leave."

Georgie and Brenda nodded as they shared a knowing glance, but dismissed it as coincidence.

"I was worried this was some kind of sex club, all belts and buckles."

Both friends wished it was, as it could be fun, but before they could say anything, Denise returned to her anxiety-driven chatter.

"It wouldn't be too bad, but it's lovely outside and freezing in here. My nips are as hard as buttons."

She thrust her small chest out inside the baggy T-shirt to reveal shallow boobs with two barely visible pips through a plain bra, disappointing her new friends. Brenda finished her beer before glancing at Georgie to do the same.

"It wouldn't be too bad, but, annoyingly, I can't find the entrance, so it's not as if I could leave, even if I wanted to."

She shrugged as her comment prompted the friends to glance around, but could not see the oyster fountains guarding the doors, with the lights and lasers obscuring anything beyond the immediate dance floor.

Georgie waved her empty bottle at Brenda, raising her eyebrows to remind her of their original plan.

"Sorry, but we're off to find the ladies." She informed Denise.

Denise's eyes widened as if caught in headlights before she chirped up. "I'll tag along if you don't mind, as it wouldn't hurt to know where they are."

Georgie and Brenda wove through the crowd, hand in hand, with their new lost puppy in tow. They deposited their empty beer bottles on a table they passed and headed towards a double door with an illuminated toilet sign above it.

Brenda leaned on Georgie's shoulder before asking. "We're not going to include her, are we?"

Georgie giggled out loud before glancing back at Denise scurrying behind. "I don't think we're her type."

"It could be fun?"

"Hmm, maybe."

"We could ask? Remember Amber?"

The pair giggled naughtily and pushed through the sprung doors, holding one side open for Denise to join them in the darkened hallway. They headed through a wooden door marked by a chrome figure with a skirt-shape and heels.

After dodging through a second, they burst into a brightly lit bathroom lined with light green tiles and a spotless checkerboard-tiled floor. A row of tall, dark, varnished timber cubicles lined the left-hand side, with matching sinks and mirrors along a white marble counter on the other.

Their echoing footsteps and the raft of cubicle doors ajar confirmed the room was empty. Georgie and Brenda's eyes rose in surprise, and their grins greeted Denise as she followed them inside.

Brenda's free hand widened the first door to reveal a crisp, almost clinically clean cubicle, large enough for the three of them. High above was a white vintage cast-iron cistern with a long gold chain hanging from a chrome lever on its side, above a white toilet with a seat, which matched the dark varnished wooden door.

Georgie released Brenda's hand and reached out to Denise, who froze, unsure of the meaning of the gesture.

"You can join us if you like? Discover the joys of sapphic sex."

Whilst her hand hovered between them, Denise's eyes danced confusingly between the two women.

"We'd be gentle and promise we'll have you screaming for more." Brenda whispered as she seductively licked her lips and pulled her skirt up just short of her panties.

Georgie wiggled her fingers invitingly at Denise whilst raising her knee and pulling her dress back to expose her thigh.

Denise stammered in surprise as Georgie wet her lips provocatively with her tongue. "We'll give you an unforgettable first time."

Both women slid their hands beneath their skirts to caress their barely hidden pussies.

Denise's eyes bulged wider, and the friends thought they saw acceptance on her face before she shook her head.

"No, no, sorry. I couldn't possibly, but thanks for the offer. It's very kind of you."

Panic flashed across her eyes, and she dashed into the adjacent cubicle, slamming the door closed.

Georgie shrugged as she pulled her dress up to expose the black lace triangle barely covering her pussy, now framed by her fingers as she strutted to Brenda, whose hand reached out to cup between her thighs.

"Oh, my mistress, you're so wet for your slut."

Brenda slid the lace aside to run her fingers along her long wetness and back, causing its owner to exhale a light moan.

"Your mistress wants your tongue to dance across her wet lips for her pleasure."

They heard Denise's quivering voice. "Oh, my."

"You're still welcome to join us and let our tongues play over your pussy's lips." Georgie pulled Brenda into the adjacent cubicle to sit on the closed wooden toilet seat, hitching her skirts higher, and leaned back against the flush pipe on the tiled wall behind.

A gasp came from next door, and then a stifled silence.

Brenda knelt before Georgie, her hands hooked beneath her knees, spreading them as she lowered her head to inhale her mistress's essence. Georgie's fingers brushed through Brenda's loose locks but refrained from dislodging her hat.

Her other hand peeled the tiny piece of wet material of underwear she had on whilst enjoying the lust on Brenda's face. She pressed Brenda downwards, feeling the warmth of her breath and then her tongue teasing its way along her swollen lips, sending waves of pleasure to cascade through her.

A lightning bolt of excitement shot through Georgie as Brenda found her clit, and her legs sprung into the air before resting her feet onto Brenda's back.

"She's eating her mistress's pussy, Denise... Watch us. We don't mind... Actually, Brenda likes it... You can masturbate too, if you want to."

"Mmm, my mistress's clit is so hard, and she's so wet." Brenda's tongue twirled around and flicked at Georgie's clit, sending huge waves of orgasm through her.

Georgie's fingers grasped and pulled at Brenda's hair to press her down harder into her pussy. Caught in her ecstatic excitement, she saw the shy face of Denise peering over the separating wall between the cubicles, her eyes bulging wide with excitement, which sent Georgie over the edge.

Georgie didn't care that Denise was watching her legs and feet spasming in the air as her orgasm built, with Brenda's fingers sliding inside her and her lips sucking on her clit for all she was worth.

Georgie wanted to beg her slut to suck and finger fuck her mistress harder, but the only sounds she could manage out of her mouth were moans and gasps of ecstasy.

It was only when Georgie tore her from between her head-squashing thighs that Brenda could breathe freely, panting as she watched the orgasms she'd delivered pulse through her lover as her fingers left Georgie to pleasure herself.

Waves of excitement rapidly accelerated to build Brenda to her own peak, whilst Georgie's diminished. Georgie's eyes opened to find her lover, deep in the throes of orgasm, and she quickly pinched her nipples roughly, as Brenda squealed in acceptance, arching her back in her final spasm.

As Brenda relaxed, Georgie grabbed her hand and sucked on her fingers, still carrying both lovers' delicious nectar. The two passionately kissed, whispering their love for each other whilst both tried to catch their breath.

Their kissing, rather than petering out, grew with renewed passion as they grew fiercer and more aggressive. Georgie softly bit Brenda's neck, running her teeth over her soft, exposed skin. Her bites gradually became more enthusiastic, and Brenda bent her head back to offer her more. Georgie's canines ran down to her fleshy cleavage.

Brenda thrust her breasts forward, grinning and giggling at her lover, her covered nipples pushing through the material. "Bite me, my mistress."

Georgie showed her teeth and dove onto Brenda's heaving, waiting breasts. Her sharp canines broke through the layers of lace and found their mark.

"OW, fuck, Gee. That's no joke. That fucking hurts." Brenda squealed as her hand swatted Georgie.

Georgie's head popped up to look at Brenda. Her pupils were jet black like their host at the entrance, and full of bloodlust. But this immediately drained away as she saw the pain in Brenda's face.

"Oh, shit. Bren, I'm sorry. I got carried away."

"Too fucking right you did."

Georgie ducked to avoid a second cuffing hand from Brenda and grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Honest, I don't know what came over me." Her voice took on a less stressed, calmer tone. "I had an overwhelming desire to break skin and see blood flow."

Brenda swallowed, rubbing her hand over her breast, and nodded as she answered.

"Oddly, I wanted you to, and perversely thought it would give me yet another, even greater orgasm, but fuck, it hurt."

"I'll kiss you better, all over, once we're back at the hotel, but no teeth, I promise." Georgie winked as she pecked a promiscuous apology on Brenda's lips.

"And get Miss Strappy out?" Brenda giggled, feigning an innocent look.

"Uh-huh," Georgie promised as she continued to cover Brenda in sloppy, tooth-free kisses.

Brenda stood up and used some toilet roll to dry both her, Georgie and the seat as they adjusted underwear and skirts before flushing the paper away. They both glanced knowingly at each other as they realised that Denise was moaning in the adjacent cubicle.

"She was watching us earlier." Georgie whispered as she used a middle finger to mime her masturbating.

Brenda grinned and pushed the unlocked door open for them to find Denise, sitting on the closed toilet lid, with her legs spread wide enough for a blonde girl, clad in a tight, black PVC dress, to bury her head between Denise's thighs.

The blonde was clearly lapping energetically at her pussy as Denise's hips thrust upwards, repeatedly offering herself to her lover's tongue. Denise's virginal white panties hung from an ankle, dancing in the air as her leg vibrated with the spasms of lust wracking her body.

Her T-shirt and bra were tucked behind her head, exposing her small breasts as her own fingers pinched and pulled at her pinpoint nipples. The cistern's gold chain was wrapped around her neck, and her lover kept it playfully tight enough to fulfill its role.

Denise's eyes were closed in ecstasy as she moaned and gasped with her body pulsing with orgasmic pleasure.

The two friends grinned appreciatively at each other and retreated, shushing each other. They washed and dried their hands before leaving, enjoying the moaning crescendo echoing around the room from Denise.

Once outside, Georgie whispered. "Holy crap. I didn't hear anyone enter."

"My ears were wedged between your thighs, so I couldn't hear a thing."

The pair giggled naughtily.

"She must have caught Denise playing with herself and joined in!"

"She certainly wasn't objecting."

As they pushed the double doors open to return to the club, they heard Denise's distant screams of ecstasy from behind them. The dance floor looked busier, and they agreed to head back to the bar to quench their dry throats.

They were quickly served their requested beers, but upon paying, they were also offered shots, similar to the ones they'd received upon entry, and once more they disagreed on their taste. As they walked away, they couldn't help but walk to the beat, bouncing on their toes.

Now, every touch sent exciting tingles through each of them, and each dance move became a provocative sexual invitation, no matter how minor. Their excitement built as they got closer and closer, kissing whilst openly touching and caressing each other, with over-exuberant hands reaching breasts, brushing butts and teasing between their legs.

As their passion increased further, a tall redhead burst between them, surprising them. She wore a black skater dress with matching ankle boots and fishnet tights. Rather than a mask, she had a black band painted across her eyes like the woman they had met earlier.

A mix of necklaces hung around her neck, along with her hair and large bangles on her wrists, which floated above the cuffs of her lace fingerless gloves.

"What the fuck?" Georgie protested, throwing her arms out at the stranger.

"Hi, um, I'm Alina. Freda told you to leave. Why didn't you?"

Stunned, the friends glanced at each other.

Out of the crowd emerged the white-haired, leather belt clad woman from the bar earlier, looking frustrated but acknowledged the redhead.

"These are the two warm ones, aren't they, Freda?"

The woman who they now knew as Freda nodded. "I even planted the vision of them having friends outside waiting for them."

They gasped as Freda sniffed the air with a look of concern.

"I know I can smell it, too." Alina told Freda.

"Smell what?" Georgie almost screamed as she shared an annoyed look with Brenda.

Alina looked at the two friends. "Don't tell me you drank the free shots?"

The image of them knocking the shots back with the hostess at the entrance and then the free ones at the bar ran through Georgie's and Brenda's minds.

"You accepted drinks from strangers? In a strange club, in a strange new city?" Alina angrily rolled her eyes.

The two friends clutched at each other, blushing at being discovered but unsure of what they were guilty of.

"And we can smell that you've had sex?" Freda accused the pair.

Georgie stiffened with anger. "What the fuck?" As Brenda shrank closer to her lover, blushing profusely.

"You realise that was vampire blood wine? A powerful aphrodisiac designed to get you pumped and horny, because your having sex gives them a bonus higher endorphin kick when they drain you." Freda spat her words angrily at them.

"You must be fucking mad." Georgie waved a finger at Freda.

Freda shook her head. "No, nothing wrong with me."

Georgie stabbed a second accusing finger at Alina."And you... you're just as mad... coming up to two innocent clubbers like this?"

Alina chuckled defiantly. "Nope, nothing wrong with me."

She stepped closer. Her hand shot out to pull each friend's hair aside, inspecting their necks.

"They're still warm... Have either of you been bitten or bitten the other?"

Freda and Alina glared at the friends as they remembered the toilet cubicle where Georgie bit Brenda.

"Okay, so you didn't draw blood?" Freda asked, slightly relieved.

"No, are you fucking mad?" Georgie's voice rose before she shouted. "Security?" She glanced around, but no one paid her any heed.

Alina, with surprising strength, grasped the pair of them. "No, we told you. There's nothing wrong with us."

Alina looked to Freda for approval, who nodded before she lowered her voice. "Freda is a vampire, but a good one. She won't kill you, and I'm... sort of... a vampire killer. This club is a vampire coven's trap to entice tourists in. You're all blood fodder to feed them. No-one will be able to trace you here."

"Ha, that's where you're wrong. The hotel night porter knows." Georgie scoffed.

"Oh, you mean the guy who told you about this wonderful goth club and even gave you the password?"

The friends blushed, now clutching tighter to each other.

"He's a familiar, at best. The coven has its fingers everywhere. We've had our eye on them for months."

"But we've all entered by the same door, with the neon sign."

"Ha ha. All you victims have entered through multiple entrances, from all over the city. Each is a portal. We're not where you think we are. We're actually in a disused factory on an old industrial estate at the outer edge of Berlin."

Freda added. "Those words you repeated as you drank that toast were part of the spell to bring you through."

Alina sighed. "Don't worry. You're safe now. Mother will be able to get you back."

Freda stepped closer to ask. "We're looking for Denise? Small, short black hair, tour T-shirt, and a miniskirt. Have you seen her?"

The two lovers nodded. Brenda perked up, pointing into the crowd. "Yes, we left her in the ladies, but look, here she is."

Their eyes followed Brenda's pointing finger to see a hand waving above the sea of bouncing heads, as they caught Denise's grinning white maskless face bobbing between masked dancers, making her way towards them.

"Hey, girls." Her voice rang out above the sound of the music.

Denise emerged from the crowd, but looking different. Her pert, peaked breasts bounced freely beneath her T-shirt, which hung, partly torn, provocatively off a shoulder, revealing two bloody puncture wounds at her neck.

But it was her piercing, hungry black eyes that stood out. She strode towards the friends with a singular determination, now wearing an unnatural, false smile on her now paler face, which opened to show four long, pure-white sharp fangs.

Georgie and Brenda stepped back as Denise covered the space between them with unnaturally incredible speed, but Freda intercepted her, completely halting her progress. Her hands immediately gripped Denise's wrists, as her head tucked down to her neck and clearly bit into it.

Not in a friendly, nibbling, sexy love bite, but in a full, break the skin, and suck all her blood out kind of way. Even with the music, they could hear Freda sucking and slurping heartily on the dark red fluid that pumped through her veins, but barely spilled a drop.

The two friends clung to each other, terrified into silence at what they saw, as Denise's face turned from surprise to ecstatic pleasure to horror whilst she fought to escape from Freda's hold on her. Alina tried to stand between them, blocking their view, as it was clear Denise was fighting back, as they watched her strength being drained from her.

"You don't need to see that... You have to understand she's not the friend you knew."

"We barely knew her, but why is she killing her?" Georgie half-protested, confirming what Brenda feared.

"She was already dead in that sense, and if Freda had allowed her to bite one of you, you would also be. She's new, and would drain you dry in an orgasm of bloodlust."

They heard a crack of bone breaking as Freda lowered Denise to the floor, her head hanging at an unnatural angle. Freda turned to the three watchers, her teeth dripping with blood and face now flushed as she licked more of the crimson from her lips.

"Something's got to give," she told the trio standing before her. She flicked her wrist, and a long, thin dagger appeared in her hand.

"What the fuck?" Brenda gasped before turning away as Freda sawed at Denise's bloody neck, opening the wound further with the sickening sound of flesh being sawn and hitting bone. Despite the horrific scene, all Brenda could think was how lucky it was that there was nothing left in Denise to bleed out across the floor for dancers to slip on.

Alina agreed with Freda. "You're right; something's got to give now."

Despite her size, Freda proved herself to be stronger than she looked as she half tore, half cut Denise's head from her body, but rather than spilling blood all over the floor, her flesh aged into dust which gradually flowed onto the floor until her torso followed her limbs by imploding, disintegrating into dust.

"Fuck!" Georgie gasped.

"We've got to go." Alina forcibly turned both women away.

"How can you be so insensitive? She's just killed our friend by ripping her head off." Georgie protested.

With surprising force, Alina ignored their cries and pushed the two friends into the crowd, guiding them. "Here we go... I told you she was already dead."

Alina spoke as if talking into a radio. "I'll take them to the others with Nick and Kat, then we'd best get out of here, because something's got to give soon."

But the friends couldn't see any microphone as Alina drove, pushed and shoved them through the crowd, ignoring their protests whilst driving them around groups, by repeatedly saying. "Here we go."

The dancers they were avoiding no longer had that look of sexual lust. They were now intimidating as the three of them squeezed through an opening in the mass of bodies to find a clearing, with a wall of clubbers sharing the same black eyes full of the bloodlust Denise had, halting their progress.

"Fuck," Alina swore. "This is too soon. I can't fight them all and protect you."

Her hands went from guiding the two lovers to painfully gripping their upper arms as she told them: "Take a deep breath, girls."

She jerked the two women backwards as the temperature plummeted and they were suddenly surrounded by an opaque bubble.

The thumping music became muffled as they struggled to focus on the world outside, leaving everyone fuzzy looking, and the blood-thirsty clubbers searching for their missing meal.

Alina jubilantly chuckled with pride. "Fuck, it worked!"

Georgie and Brenda saw the triumphant look on her face. She shrugged and grinned.

"We've only practiced it before. Freda and me, that is. It's so much easier with two who know what they're doing, but no one has ever done it with live baggage before."

"Baggage?" Brenda repeated, as she huddled closer to Georgie.

Both women clung desperately to each other. Unsettled as they watched clubbers walk through the bubble without actually entering, searching for them. Their bodies, and hands would appear on the other side, as if the tiny space they were inside was wafer thin.

Georgie felt Brenda's confusion join hers and had to speak up. "Can you just take a minute and explain, where the fuck are we and why you've murdered our friend, whilst barely batting an eye?"

"Ahh, okay... Imagine every vampire, monster, or werewolf film that you've ever seen, and understand that it's all true. We've found them and fought them. So, forgive me if I kept you moving when we all wanted to lament the passing of a human being, but if we had, we'd all be dead husks on the floor alongside her."

Georgie and Brenda blushed and looked away, their anger draining from them as Brenda asked, "But did you really have to rip her head off?"

Alina nodded sympathetically. "As awful as it seems, yes. For her sake as well protect against her taking future lives. Anything other than fire, decapitation or a permanent stake through the heart allows them to heal the wound, no matter how bad. They can reanimate, to kill and feed once more."

Georgie and Brenda clutched each other closer, gulping in disbelief as everything they'd witnessed and heard sank in.

"Right and for where we are, you know there are an infinite number of parallel worlds?" Alina asked.

The lovers shook their heads, still nervous at being able to see the searching frustrated clubbers outside.

Alina frowned. "I don't have the time to explain it but, this is the space between ours and another parallel world... This is where Freda keeps her swords, and possibly most of her wardrobe. It's easy to put inanimate objects here, but to bring two live humans is unheard of... Fuck, mum's going to be impressed."

Brenda glanced at Georgie before looking at the gloating Alina. "So you're some kind of wizard and we're just a pair of dumb ass muggles?"

Alina threw her head back laughing, "Oh girls... The world you know has many layers. Things you think are fables or fantasies are actually real. My grandmother is a witch, my mother a storm demon, Freda a vampire and this club is full of vampires."

Brenda and Georgie huddled in the centre of the bubble, as Georgie asked. "So you're a witch too?"

Alina laughed again. "No... Not quite. It's hard to explain but I've a dragon persona. She's close by in this space, but keeping her distance, so as not to scare you. When needed we swap places but we share thoughts and vision."

She shook her head as she saw the mixture of confusion and scorn on the two women's faces. "I know it is difficult to believe, but you've already seen things outside the ordinary. We've done all this before, and typically, more will happen tonight that'll stretch your understanding of the world."

Alina's stance softened, as she pleaded. "Please, we can't stay here debating all evening. I don't know if you can feel it but it is getting colder."

Brenda and Georgie nodded. It wasn't as if the club outside was warm, but here inside the bubble it was definitely a lot colder.

"It's ok, it's not that cold." Georgie tried to sound nonchalant.

"Because we're between worlds, this space doesn't work the same, but it is limitless and devoid of life, hence nothing to heat it. We once experimented with a rat, and left it in here for an hour for it to come out a frozen popsicle."

"But you said your dragon is here?" Georgie questioned.

"Only to ensure our safety, and she has her own furnace inside her, keeping her warm... We need to get moving. And whatever you do, don't pick anything up... Goodness knows what other magical shit has been stored and left here over the centuries."

She walked past them and encouraged them to follow her. The bubble stayed in front of her and sealed behind them as they moved through an impossibly dense dance floor that was oblivious to their passing. The opaque skin around them didn't bend or flex to any barrier, whether vampire, human or steel column, they just passed through.

"So why don't the vampires come and get us?" Brenda asked with a quivering voice, as her breath now misted in the cold air.

"This takes very old magic... Freda accidentally learned of it from an ancient vampire... His memories were passed to her by his lover when she bit and shared her blood, mixed with his with Freda. But they and their coven lost their heads to mother before I was born. So anything found here could be centuries old, and best left well alone."

Georgie and Brenda shared surprised looks as Alina continued to steer them towards one group, set apart, some dancing, but all looking anxious. In the back of the group were the two men who offered their services earlier in the evening, the larger one acting more sheepish than he did when they last spoke.

Alina stopped. "Nick, Kat, I'm here but there's three of us and we need some room to return to the real world."

A man in glistening black leather and a similarly dressed woman in a bodice with a matching skirt reacted, moved people aside to create some space. Once more Alina gripped the two friends' upper arms, maybe a little tighter than was needed.

"Take a deep breath."

Alina jerked Georgie and Brenda once more and the opaque bubble vanished, allowing the club with all its noise, and lights to return into focus.

"She wasn't joking about it getting cold in there." Brenda said as she and Georgie rubbed their hands over themselves to warm back up. "Look at us maskless muggles all standing out." She nodded at the naked faces of the group watching them.

"I did it. I bloody went and did it Nick. I had no choice, but it worked." Alina shouted with glee at the leather clad man.

He came closer, and she lowered her voice, but Brenda could still hear them over the music. "As far as we know, these are the last two. We lost their friend. Freda has dealt with her and is following on."

"Denise, her name was Denise." Brenda protested.

Two women nearby perked up at hearing the name and approached the newcomers to the group.

"You met Denise? Is she okay?" They glanced into the dancing throng beyond, hope in their eyes.

Brenda and Georgie didn't know what to say as neither were sure what they had witnessed or how to explain it, unable to look directly at the two women.

Alina stepped forward. "I'm afraid she won't be joining us."

Both women's faces changed from hope to despair, as questions hung on their lips but guilt hung in their hearts, stopping them.

Alina didn't notice as she told Nick. "Mum's dealing with the hierarchy, so the crowd could turn at any moment."

"Good, I hope she throws some thunderbolts, I love it when she does that."

Alina rolled her eyes and turned outward to keep a watchful eye on the dancing throng whilst pretending to dance herself.

Georgie had to ask. "Thunderbolts?"

He nodded proudly. "Yes. Alina's mother is a storm demon and amongst other things can throw really impressive thunderbolts."

He saw the incredulous looks on the two friends' faces. "There's nothing wrong with me. It runs in the family, her grandmother was a witch and she turns into a dragon!" His face glowed proudly.

They both gasped and Brenda confirmed. "That's what Alina said."

Georgie nodded. "And now we're starting to believe it."

The woman in the leather bodice, called Kat approached and hung onto Nick, like a dear friend, whilst changing the subject. "You met my Freda? Isn't she just divine?"

Her eyes were glazed over as if she was missing a lover.

The two friends clung together as Georgie gasped. "But she's a vampire?"

"And she's all mine... Don't worry, she's promised not to drain warm, living people dry. She wouldn't even kill my ex boyfriend, I had to do that."

Shocked, they hugged again as Freda appeared out of the crowd to join them. Kat immediately left Nick, to hug her, kissing her on the lips. She saw their eyes bulge and laughed.

"Don't worry, she won't bite you. She's never bitten me."

Freda almost robotically paused in thought before answering. "Ah, not quite true... I did drink from you once." She squeezed Kat lovingly before glancing at their friends. "And Nick, and Alina."

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Georgie gasped as the lovers tightened their grip on each other.

Kat shook her head. "No, you misunderstand. She drank less than a pint from each of us to save herself because she was badly injured, and we had to escape a coven of vampires."

"Holy crap. The more they talk, the scarier their stories become." Brenda whispered to Georgie.

"There's nothing wrong with us... We just want a quiet life, but keep finding covens of witches, vampires, werewolves and other practitioners of the black arts to fight."

Kat shrugged and let Freda leave to join Alina to act as sentries, while she and Nick chatted.

Like Kat, both watched her feign dancing with Alina, in her revealingly tight leather dress.

Brenda chuckled, nudging Georgie. "It's no wonder she hides that sword in that bubble land, there's no way she could hide anything wearing that. Not that either of us would kick her out of bed."

They both chuckled with Georgie clucking in agreement.

Denise's friends had remained close, overheard them and the one spoke up. "They said she moves her sword to some space between here and a parallel world. We've no idea what that means but we're glad for it as she saved us earlier."

The pair couldn't look Georgie or Brenda in the eye. "I'm Maddy and this is Chloe."

"I'm Georgie and this is Brenda."

"Hi, Denise didn't want to come tonight, but we talked her into it."

Chloe nodded. "We thought there'd be some hunks here for her."

Maddy, the taller of the two, guiltily continued. "I lent her a tee, and skirt as she didn't have anything suitable... We only went to the bar, but she disappeared in the crowd."

"We tried to find her." Chloe looked away, avoiding looking Brenda or Georgie in the eye.

Brenda's hold on Georgie tightened as guilt ran through her, half guessing what really happened. A distasteful image of a farmer separating a lamb out of the flock for slaughter came to mind. She glanced at Georgie who also struggled to know what to say.

"She said she'd lost you." Georgie blurted out, but it didn't satisfy the two women.

"So, what happened to her?" Maddy asked.

They shrugged as Brenda explained. "We went to the toilet and got separated."

Maddie and Chloe's interest deflated as they accepted the feeble explanation and hugged each other in consolation. Brenda squeezed Georgie and whispered to her. "Well, it's almost true. We can't possibly tell them the whole story."

Georgie squeezed her back and kissed her. "No, no, we can't... Although she was definitely enjoying what we saw in the loo. Although, I'm not even sure I understand what happened afterwards nor how to explain that Freda drank her blood before tearing her head off."

"With you there, Gee... I can't imagine what that poor woman suffered after we left the toilet."

"Now... Thinking of it, I don't think those screams we heard were of ecstasy."

Brenda shuddered and clung onto Georgie as they both nervously scanned the dancing masses about them as they mingled with the small group. Various people asked them about their experiences in the club whilst also sharing theirs.

"It seems we're not the only ones who had a tip from someone at their hotel and are unable to explain what they've witnessed." Brenda told Georgie as they heard several other confused tales of a friend or clubber attacking group members, similar to theirs' with Denise.

"Although none admit to having sex in the toilets." Georgie giggled back.

"Maybe they think we're too prudish to share their horny stories with?"

"Ha ha, we'll have to ask them later."

A theatrical cough caught their attention, and they found Pete, from earlier, looking even more sheepish than he did behind his musclebound friend. He held his hands up, apologetically. "Ladies, I'm so sorry about Ben."

"He should be the one apologising, fucking misogynistic, muscle-bound moron." Georgie angrily told him.

"I'm not here to defend him or his actions. In fact, quite the opposite." He glanced nervously over his shoulder where a contrite-looking Ben waved at him to continue, although half hidden behind some women in the group.

"He's had a terrifying scare."

"Fucking well deserves one, prick." Brenda jumped in.

"He did, and to be honest, I totally agree that it was overdue." Pete relaxed as he saw Brenda and Georgie's softening approach, clearly now willing to listen.

"I've been with him through high school... I'm gay and fell in love with him from day one, but I've had to hide it to avoid being bullied and in the vain hope he'd change his ways."

Brenda and Georgie shared looks of surprise, which he caught.

"I know... He has done dreadful, arrogant, spiteful things to the most wonderful women without a second thought. But tonight he's had an epiphany."

Georgie and Brenda exchanged scornful glances.

"Yes, it's hard to believe, but the most beautiful angel took him to the toilet and turned into a monster. He had to tear the place apart to avoid being killed. If Freda hadn't burst in to take up the fight, he'd have been sucked dry."

Georgie and Brenda glanced at the unsure Ben, clearly wondering how his envoy was managing.

"Alina protected me from two men, and he's mortified that when push came to shove, he couldn't defend his best friend. So he's been doing a lot of soul-searching."

"We're still not getting off with him." Georgie half laughed, as Brenda grunted in agreement.

"No, that's not what I'm here for. He wants forgiveness. He realises he could have ruined what should have been a great girls' night out, and he's never thought beyond his own selfish ways."

Pete's eyes pleaded with the pair. "Please, even if you can't forgive him, the real reason I came over wasn't just to do his bidding... It was to thank you, when you bluntly turned him down, it was the first shock to his system this evening, and yes, he deserved it... But at long last, I feel I have a chance... He's never held my hand before, or confessed feelings, so thanks... Please, don't let him know?"

"Georgie laughed. "Okay, Pete, tell him we forgive him." She bent down and whispered, "But only if he shows you the love you deserve. Don't you dare allow him to treat you like he did us?"

Pete bit his lip, nodding. "I'd best go, so he doesn't come over... Thanks for understanding."

He turned tail and ran back to Ben, who hugged him, keeping his arm protectively on his shoulder, listening to Pete's retelling of their conversation.

"Fuck, who'd have thought?" Georgie

"He'll be like Fiona in Shrek, except he'll turn back into a prick at dawn."

"Mwohaha." Georgie laughed, hugging a chuckling Brenda. "God, I love you." And kissed her on the head.

As the girls chuckled and hugged, a commotion built in the distance, attracting their attention, comprising a flurry of light and noise mixed in with the thumping bass beats of music and dancing lasers. The crowd seemed oblivious, whilst Freda and Alina spread apart.

Still hugging each other, Georgie and Brenda retreated into the safety of the group, joining Denise's friends.

A tall, dark shape, towering above the crowd as it worked its way through the sea of dancers. As the mysterious figure gradually came closer, it developed a feminine face, but with red eyes and flaming black hair. Whilst she strode determinedly towards the group, knocking people aside, neither of the four guarding them seemed concerned.

Georgie and Brenda gasped when she emerged out of the crowd, and they absorbed the image of the six-foot tall woman clad in layers of black coats, multiple skirts, and a waistcoat, whilst needlessly wearing thick platformed boots for her height.

Alina welcomed her as "Mother." Whereas Nick, Kat and Freda acknowledged her with "Mother Alina."

They all spoke with her, but the two friends could only overhear the phrases: "Can't take much more," and "Something's got to give."

Brenda nudged Georgie and rolled her eyes. "How conceited do you need to be to name your daughter after yourself?"

Georgie chuckled. "It could be worse. They could be calling her 'Junior!'"

The pair giggled quietly as Brenda whispered, "Or even Alina the Second!" That sent them into fits of stifled giggles.

Mother Alina's long hair floated in the air as if statically charged, and whilst very feminine, she commanded a dangerous presence you wouldn't want to mess with, and everyone clearly held her in high regard. She looked up to survey those about her and declared. "This is the end. Time to go, girls. I'll lead the way. Just make sure you let the bodies hit the floor."

The group, who were clearly excited to be leaving the club, followed the tall, confident woman under the directions of Alina, Freda, Nick, and Kat, encouraging everyone with, "Here we go... Here we go."

"If I didn't know better, they're almost disappointed nothing has happened?" Georgie told Brenda as they hurried along in the centre of the group.

"Yeah." Brenda shrugged and tightened her hold on Georgie's hand.

When Mother Alina stopped, they crowded around behind her to look at the cause. Georgie and Brenda recognised the two fountains either side of a set of double doors, and everyone noticed the water ignoring the law of physics by running backwards.

Alina and Freda had become alert and searched the vicinity for any threat. The group huddled together, all looking at the barrier, which seemed easy enough to continue through, but for some unknown reason their escort had paused the convoy.

Seconds later, without warning, the doors burst open, flying off their top hinges, driven by a massive gust of wind coming from behind them. The whole group jumped in surprise, with frightened gasps and squeals, as splinters showered them, whereas their escorts sharpened their focus.

Out of the distant gloom beyond the shattered doors, which now hung off their hinges, a dark figure emerged. Not walking, but floating, as if being propelled towards them on some invisible conveyor belt, which quickly became recognisable as a tall, thin man.

He abruptly stopped at the threshold, looking decidedly unhappy and as if he had been dragged through a bush backwards with scars to match, with his white shirt and black leather trousers torn and ripped.

Brenda gasped. "It's the fucking hotel's night porter." Several others in the group also recognised him, suggesting they'd all been targeted by the man. Although some contradicted, saying he was a waiter or barman.

He ignored the comments, keeping his eyes on Mother Alina as he sneered. "Alina, the storm demon who, arrogantly, likes to announce her arrival, but tonight your story ends here."

"Kronus, you should have remained in the rubble of your tomb, along with Alecto and Megaera... Saving me the trouble of removing your head from your shoulders."

The man laughed mockingly. "Alecto and Megaera kindly sacrificed themselves so I could be the one to send you to hell."

"You drained your friends to save yourself, you mean? No honour amongst vampires."

"Ha ha, says the great storm demon, who relies on her day-walking pet vampire to do her dirty work."

The man's eyes shone red as they fell on Freda, who once more, with a flick of her wrist, caused a sword to appear in her hand and sneered at the man blocking their way.

"How does she do that?" Brenda whispered in Georgie's ear, nodding at the weapon glinting in the dark.

"Never mind that. He called Freda a day-walking vampire. I thought they could only come out at night?" Georgie answered, as they both regarded her in a different light.

"Don't worry, Freda. Once I rid this world of your pesky demon mistress, I've a very painful solution to your day walking as your penalty for your involvement in her genocide of vampire kind."

Freda ignored the threat as she tossed her sword to Nick, for another one to appear magically in her hand, which she handed to Kat, before a third, long, needle-like one replaced it, which she swished demonstratively in the air.

Georgie's grip tightened on Brenda as she whispered. "Holy crap. What have we stumbled into, Bren? All we wanted was a good old Halloween costume party."

"I know. Maybe we should lump for a simple beach holiday next time?" The two friends groaned, as they knew that would be the last thing they'd want.

Mother Alina scoffed. "And what of your fishwife mistress, Cruella De Vil?"

Kronus's calm exterior changed as he jerked forward, his face full of anger and his arms tense, ready for a fight.

"How dare you mock my mistress Lyssa," he bellowed.

"ENOUGH, Kronus." Mother Alina commanded, as her voice had that bite to it where you know she meant it and was prepared to back up her bark. "Step aside and let these humans leave, or feel my wrath."

Kronus, the mysterious night porter, raucously laughed as his hands waved across him in denial before suddenly changing direction to push a plume of what looked like harmless sparks out from him.

Some in the group gasped and clung onto their partners, whilst their escorts barely moved.

Mother Alina chuckled as the sparks failed to reach her, dying in the air with loud zaps and zings, indicating they were more powerful than a harmless light show. "Surely, a great elder, such as yourself, could muster better curses than that?"

She flicked her fingers in his direction, and shards of lightning shot from her hand, aimed at her attacker. He batted aside the first few arrows with his hands, but he could not stop the torrent that followed. Each one he missed stung deeper into him, causing him to flinch with the severe pain, allowing more to strike home.

He tried to respond, but the pain being inflicted on him grew too much, and his knees buckled, dropping him to the floor.

The streaks of lightning stopped, and Mother Alina gave a low, menacing chuckle. "Yield, and let us pass. Lick your wounds, and survive another night."

Kronus seemed to catch his breath as he slowly rose back up to his full height. He scornfully considered Mother Alina before looking away. Rather than acquiescing, he lunged towards them, throwing his hands out, once more. This time a black ball, covered in blue flames, emerged to fly directly at Mother Alina.

Her hair flared up, and the ball knocked her almost off her feet as he grunted, drawing back, preparing to throw another.

Mother Alina stood defiantly as a breeze drew from behind the group, growing colder as it sped up, to be swallowed up by her body as if it were a huge vacuum cleaner. Despite her hair dancing about her head, the two friends thought they saw a pair of red horns protruding through.

She laughed, but with menace, as if he'd fallen into her trap. "Okay, we'll do it the hard way." She shrugged. "It's far more enjoyable, anyway."

Brenda and Georgie heard a commotion behind them. Alina and Freda, with their needle-like blades flashing, dashed to the rear, but they were entranced by the scene in front of them.

The surrounding air crackled with static, and they felt their own hair rising as fingers of lightning left Mother Alina's hands without any theatrics from her except for a manic chuckle.

The two friends held their breath as the strands of electricity grew to envelop the now fearful Kronus. The lightning fingers divided to create a web, trapping him, like a fish caught in a net.

The vampire's fear changed to brazen defiance, but as the net tightened around him, sizzling as it burned cloth and skin alike, his face revealed the true pain being inflicted on him.

They continued to ignore the commotion building behind them as they couldn't take their eyes away from the tortuous net of white hot electricity searing its way through layers of tissue that gradually turned to dust until all that was left of Kronus was a dusty pile on the floor.

"The water's stopped running!" someone shouted.

Brenda and Georgie blinked to help accustom themselves to the darker club after the electric blue lightning show. Sure enough, the two oyster-shell basins spilled over with water that had ceased to flow either backwards or forwards.

Mother Alina waved her hand to throw a glowing orb down the dark, foreboding hallway. However, it didn't get far. Rather than illuminating the first set of double doors, it hovered in front of a dusty, grey breeze-block wall. Rather than the plush red wallpaper, the walls were a mixture of brick and steel columns.

"Fuck, they were right. We're in an old factory." Brenda gasped, holding tighter onto Georgie.

Various comments flew around the group. "The hallway's gone..." "We'll never get out..." "This can't be where we came in...."

Georgie whispered to Brenda. "Alina said we'd see more things we couldn't fully understand."

"More magic... At least that awful picture has gone." Brenda answered.

Been

Mother Alina called to the others. "Kronus's death has closed the portal. We need to use the other entrance, but Lyssa will be defending it."

With their exit blocked, Mother Alina wheeled around looking for options, followed by the group to see Alina and Freda defiantly standing in front of the previously jovial, dancing masses, who now stood threateningly still with glowing red eyes full of blood-lusting hunger.

A few misshapen bodies lay on the floor before them, the majority in front of Alina. Freda's blade dripped with blood. Despite their overwhelming numbers, the crowd stood back, more fearful of the swordless Alina than of Freda.

Brenda shivered with revulsion when she noticed a few bodiless heads with trails of blood connecting them to their respective bodies.

Georgie grimly stated the obvious. "Well, those bodies have definitely hit the floor!"

Brenda nudged and shushed her. As they realised that the vampires had formed a semicircle around them.

Mother Alina turned to the group. "Stay in the alcove. Then they won't be able to get behind you, making it easier to protect you until we move."

The group, along with Brenda and Georgie, shuffled back into what had earlier been the entrance hallway. Men in the group stood on the outer edges, trying to look heroically protective but clearly nervous.

Comments echoed that the army of vampires before them would surely be the end of them all.

Mother Alina scoffed. "Don't despair; they're mostly an illusion."

She waved her hand to finish with a flourish and a flick, creating a blue ring of light that pulsed out from her fingers. The instant it reached the first line of vampires, they dissolved and vanished. The second row stood defiant, unaffected by the passing wave, although half of the third faded and also went.

As the pulsing ring expanded through the club, it erased the mass illusion of clubbers to create a surreal scene of an empty building but with disco lights, lasers, and music still blaring out of unseen speakers.

Brenda and Georgie could count barely thirty vampires trying to be convincingly menacing whilst actually looking vulnerable.

"Ah, so that's why no costumes, Gee. To create multiple avatars, with individual faces and costumes, even with minor differences would be too difficult. Far easier to conjure up half naked men, scantily clad women, with masks hiding faces."

"And that's why, clever Bren, I love you."

They had no warning, but as the girls hugged, sharing a kiss, Mother Alina's arm flung out to throw a thunderbolt at a blur in their peripheral vision on their left. The blur was immediately halted in its tracks to become a screaming vampire being thrown backwards, clasping the flaming ball that now burned into his chest, turning him to dust before he even hit the ground.

Mother Alina followed it with a fireball to their right, turning a second speeding blur into another screaming, burning vampire who joined his friend in the dust layer on the floor.

"This is what they do. Dash in and try to pick off anyone exposed. Stay together." Mother Alina told everyone.

Fear ran through the group, and they all huddled closer, linking arms and holding hands, all fearful of being a victim of the next blur. The men at the front glanced around, even more nervous than before. Freda, seeing this, approached the men on the outside of the group, and handed them swords, freshly spirited from her personal magic armoury.

Georgie shuffled out. "Hey, I see double standards here. Whilst you women protect us, you only offer swords to the men?"

Freda gave her a scathing look, as a fresh sword appeared in her hand and she made her way to Georgie's position. Georgie stood her ground, as Brenda whispered. "You and your big mouth."

Freda flipped the long, thin sword into the air, to catch its blade and offer the leather-bound handle to a defiant Georgie, and with a wry smile said, "Your sword, madam, and make sure you point it outwards."

She offered swords to other women, but none accepted the offer before she returned to a defensive position, closer to the mob surrounding them.

Georgie clumsily whisked the blade through the air, testing the new extension to her arm. "It's not heavy at all." She heeded Freda's instruction and kept the sword pointing outwards, as she tested its feel with further slashes in front of her.

Mother Alina was on high alert; her hair danced flaming in the air as it crackled with little sparks of static. She shouted something incoherent and flung a lightning bolt across the cavernous factory at the DJ podium, instantly turning it into a smouldering pile of splinters.

Relief spread through the group as it silenced the pounding music, and whilst some lights remained spinning, the more annoying flashing ones stopped. The ensuing silence underlined the reality of their being trapped by a mob of vampires in the dimly lit factory, which oddly had two fully stocked bars but no clientele.

Georgie was still looking to her left, at the mess on the far side of the factory, lamenting the loss of some seriously expensive equipment whilst nonchalantly swishing her sword with her right hand in front of Brenda, without paying attention.

Georgie heard Brenda's scream as her hands clasped over hers, to guide her arm outwards. Terrified she'd accidentally stabbed her, Georgie turned, but rather than Brenda being on the sharp end of the sword, she was directing it towards the vampires opposite.

As she focussed on the situation, she realised that rather than just waving it, Brenda had targeted it at an oncoming blur. At the last second, Brenda adjusted her stance to thrust the sword to greet the barely visible attacker.

The blur surged onto the long, sharp blade of steel. The blur slowed, returning to human form, its fangs dominating its wide-open mouth expecting an easy meal, but its own weight and speed impaled its body further up the shining blade.

Brenda's aim was true, and she thrust the blade deeper into the attacking undead beast's heart. The eyes were dead, like their host, leaving Brenda and Georgie unsure if it were still a threat or truly dead.

The screams behind them had died, and they were left wondering what to do with their heavy humanoid kebab. Its mouth drooped and deformed as its lifeless body went limp. Its knees buckled and fell backwards off the sword, dropping to the floor like a rag doll.

The rag doll remained lifeless, but no blood spilled from the hole in its shirt. They thought they saw its head move and then its leg twitched. A grinning Freda appeared from nowhere and with a defiant swing of her blade decapitated the body before them. At first nothing happened, but gradually the head and body turned into grainy black dust.

Freda laughed manically, swishing her sword defiantly at the watching vampires. "Well done, girls. One up on the men."

She returned to her post as Georgie tried to pass Brenda the blade. "You were a far better swordswoman than me. I wasn't even paying attention."

Brenda threw her hands in the air. "Oh, no. You wanted it."

"But you're... Ah, I don't know what you call it... A better stabber? Than me."

"Swordswoman, you even said it, just now. But if you hadn't whinged about equality, we wouldn't have had the sword, and it would have been me being chewed on by those fangs."

"But after all my gusto, I wasn't paying attention, and it could have cost you your life." Georgie looked at Brenda.

"I could never live without you."

Brenda smiled. "Nor me without you."

Their eyes briefly lingered on each other as they shared loving smiles for a second, before Georgie returned her focus outwards, waving her bloody blade at the sneering vampires opposite.

"We'll continue this later... When we're alone and not at risk of being eaten alive."

Brenda whispered. "Okay, I'll take that as a promise."

Brenda blushed as multiple hands patted and gripped their shoulders and arms as their compatriots congratulated them. A few hands landed on their butt cheeks, in a way that lovers do. An arm wrapped softly around her waist, and it wasn't Georgie's.

When the attention died down, but Brenda's excitement still raged, she spoke with Georgie. "Being squeezed in with all these hands, touching us..."

Georgie looked at Brenda, her eyes glazed.

"I know Bren... It's kind'a good."

Georgie bent into Brenda so their lips could meet, and their tongues met, twisting over each other. Both tasted passion.

"A hand kept touching my ass, Gee... It set my heart on fire. I'm not sure whether it was Maddy or Chloe."

"It was Maddy, as Chloe was squeezing my backside."

Both women looked to see the two close by, biting lips, full of shy guilt.

"They are cute, Bren."

"Do you think it would be their first time?"

"It would certainly be our first foursome."

They tried to remain on their guard, looking outwards, but their thoughts drifted between what they missed had Denise joined them in the cubicle, what could happen between them and her friends, and the terrifying thoughts over what the vampires before them could do.

They maintained the perimeter, shuffling around the semi-circle, but never came closer nor drifted away, without any further attacks for what seemed an age.

"It's like a Mexican standoff." Georgie whispered to Brenda as they watched the vampires hovering, unsure of their next move.

"Yeah, but look at the way they're looking at the bodies."

Blood was draining out of them to form dark red pools, and the vampires couldn't keep their eyes off it. Some were twitching as they began to reanimate whilst their wounds were slowly healing to stem the flow of the rare blood from within them.

"They're almost licking their lips." Georgie gasped, nodding at the spectators surrounding them.

"Yeah, but it's strange how they snap back together to look at us. It's like someone is telling them to focus, but they're struggling." Brenda chuckled.

"Do you think they can smell the blood?"

As soon as Brenda said it, a vampire burst through their front ranks and threw themselves on two of the bodies, licking and sucking at the liquid congealing on the floor. A second followed to land on the nearest body and sucked at its open neck wound.

That opened the floodgates, and whilst a few stood back, many others joined the two. At first, they shared the bounty spilling from the bodies, but with more piling in, they fought over prime spots. In their haste, a few bit active vampires, who didn't seem to notice in the melee.

"Shit, it's a feeding frenzy." Georgie laughed more in relief with the attention off them for a minute.

Freda devilishly darted in and slashed at any exposed flesh, perpetuating the frenzy. Any thought of attacking the humans was gone, and the vampires, in their mindless blood lust, were biting and sucking at the nearest bleeding limb.

Freda stood back, as if watching a bonfire, as Mother Alina laughed gleefully before addressing the void beyond the bloody wrestling mass of bodies.

"Lyssa, stop sending your minions; come out and meet your doom."

At first there was no response, then a voice that Georgie and Brenda recognised echoed out from the darkness.

"I don't think so. I'll take your earlier advice to Kronus and leave to survive another night."

"It's the woman in the black dress, who gave us the shots at the entrance and in that picture," Brenda said, as others in the group confirmed that they too had met the owner of the voice.

Georgie breathed a sigh of relief. "Sounds like she's about to leave the building, and then surely they'll go too?" She nodded at the line of vampires standing back from the slippery, bloody fight on the floor, as they spread out, with their eyes menacingly focussed on the group.

Mother Alina threw her arms up to eject an enormous ball of light up into the rafters above them, bringing daylight to every corner of the massive, empty factory. There, almost above them, far from leaving, was Lyssa, standing defiantly on a roof truss, fangs on display as she hissed at Mother Alina.

Her legs protruded from torn splits in the sides of the mermaid dress everyone had met her in as she crouched to leap down upon them. Before she could, a thunderbolt shot up at her, immediately followed by another.

She threw long shards of sparks down to Mother Alina as she sprang across the void between trusses to reach the next, but a ball of fire beat her to it, buckling the beams as it burst into a wall of flames.

Brenda and Georgie had to shield their faces from the searing heat as they sought the origin of the fireball to find a huge red dragon coughing yet another at the now hovering Lyssa as she tried to share the sparks emitting from her hands onto her second foe.

"Fuck, that must be Alina's dragon, she's swapped!" Georgie declared as they admired her form.

Before them there was a fierce, slim, athletic-looking anime-like dragon, with massive wings rather than the cute, plump Welsh toys you can buy in Cardiff.

Her scales rippled, from red to green and back, unaffected by whatever Lyssa was throwing at her, whilst Mother Alina deflected them with waves of her hands, as if she had an invisible shield.

Georgie nudged Brenda. "Look at Nick."

Sure enough, Nick's focus was on his Alina dragon, his eyes full of loving adoration.

Georgie and Brenda also admired Alina. She had large smooth scales, but unlike snakes, horned ridges ran from her nostrils over her raised eye sockets, like protective eyebrows, running the length of her body, which snaked in a slow dance behind her, yet her head remained static, focussed on the vampire above.

Her wings were thick, leathery membranes stretched over what were her arms, but with razor-sharp talons at their ends rather than fingers. Sticking back from her elbows were strengthening limbs, with each also ending with a hooked talon.

Her half-open wings barely moved, holding her in an upright hover, as if ready to strike. She and Mother Alina coordinated their projectiles' trajectories to meet at Lyssa, who was hovering midair between trusses.

She saw her end and removed the force supporting her. She dropped just in time as a thunderbolt met a fireball above her, showering her in embers.

She landed like a Marvel anti-hero, both legs cushioning her fall, to rest one hand on the floor with the other arm outstretched, balancing her as she snarled four gleaming fangs at the watchers. Vampires and Lyssa shrieked in unison as they surged forward to attack the cowering group.

The group screamed and shrank back into a tight pack, but their defenders stood stoically, with swords brandished in the air, prepared. Dragon Alina spewed a wall of fire to encompass the vampire minions.

The ones that made it through had charred skin. The few clothes they wore were in flames. They were too occupied with their own pain and survival to defend against the speed at which the defenders decapitated them.

Surprisingly, the bodies turned to dust quicker than anyone thought, not having to burn for very long, resulting in minimal smoke and only leaving the stench of burnt clothes.

Kat, Nick and Freda sped around, ensuring none got close to the group, who were now packed closer together. Mother Alina streaked towards Lyssa, brandishing two huge battle axes, similar to those you can see hanging in any castle armoury.

"Where the fuck was she hiding those?" Georgie gasped.

"The same place as Freda hides her swords, I presume." Brenda chuckled.

Lyssa became a speeding blur to dodge through the gap in dragon Alina's firewall, but Mother Alina was already there with her axes swinging.

At the last second, the streaking Lyssa burst into hundreds of bats, which poured either side of her attacker, missing her flashing blades before spreading out at full flight towards the now whimpering group.

Another wall of flame spread out to stop the multitude of bats, forcing everyone to protect their eyes and faces from the heat, whilst losing sight of the impending swarm threatening them.

Soon, the flaming bright orange light faded away, along with the burning heat on the backs of their protecting hands, allowing Georgie and Brenda to lower them to see Dragon Alina jump up to fly after the cauldron of bats flying in the opposite direction.

The now forgotten mass of vampires, despite some being decapitated and already dust, others still twitched, having scavenged enough life-force to heal whilst beginning to reanimate. But as Alina passed, she puked liquid fire on them before accelerating through the air, chasing the fluttering bats that were congealing into a thick cloud.

She ignored the bats flapping uselessly on the factory floor, having had their membrane wings burned away, still trying to rejoin the swarm, leaving them to their individual fate.

Dragon Alina drew closer and cast a stream of flame at the trailing tail of bats. A few more burst into flames and fell to the ground. Others were merely singed and chased after the pack, which spread out once more, giving Dragon Alina too many targets.

Flying behind her was Mother Alina, casting lightning bolt nets to catch dozens at a time.

"Nobody said she could fly." Georgie gasped.

"I'm beyond being surprised at what they can do... But I suppose if she's a witch, she can."

"No, not a witch, a storm demon." Someone corrected Brenda.

The group relaxed, watching the two flying Alinas chasing the gradually reducing number of Lyssa bats on the far side of the factory, intermittently illuminated by bursts of flame or electric lightning.

Georgie and Brenda shook life back into their arms, not realising how tightly they'd been clutching onto each other.

Brenda nudged Georgie, nodding towards Freda as she ensured any burning bat had turned to dust or decapitated it to speed its hasty demise and join the layers of grime on the floor.

"She really does hate other vampires."

Nick overheard and added. "She enjoys it, and is very methodical at killing them, whilst also having the annoying habit of laughing manically like Mother Alina."

"It's a little unsettling." Brenda shivered. "But I'm not complaining. We could have ended up like Denise or worse."

She nodded at the humanoid shapes of dust around them on the floor. The pile of bodies was now just dying embers of burned clothes and ash.

With the immediate threat gone, Nick and Kat comforted individuals within the group, saying they should wait for Freda to return before leaving.

Freda was off in the distance chasing what looked like harmless embers floating to the ground from the aerial battle above as the dragon wove a thread of flames and the storm demon created miniature thunderstorms, illuminating the chase they were in.

The roof rattled as the rafters and beams were being buckled and bent with every overshoot or missed shot. Lyssa's decreasing flock kept up its attempt to escape, but as soon as an individual seemed to have a route, it was struck by flame, talon, or lightning.

Kat came over to the pair, as the group had broken up into their respective pairs. "Georgie, Brenda, are you two okay?"

"Yeah, thanks... How long will they continue?" Brenda glanced at the fiercely fought chase in the distance.

"Until every Lyssa bat is dealt with. If only one escapes, she can survive to drink another night and gradually return to her former self. The more bats they destroy, the weaker she becomes."

"Is it always like this?" Georgie asked.

"No, Lyssa's trick is rare. It takes a powerful vampire using very ancient magic. We've been after her for a long time, as she's been behind almost every coven and a few werewolf packs we've hunted down."

"Werewolves too? Next you'll be telling us leprechauns and fairies are real too?" Georgie scoffed.

Kat scowled at her, glancing furtively around. "Shush, or they'll hear you. They're not as funny as you think when they're pissed off, and they're angry more often than you'd imagine."

Georgie and Brenda grimaced at each other before murmuring, "Sorry."

A tremendous crash on the far side of the factory drew their attention. They caught sight of Alina spewing a wall of flame up a new hole in the roof, as sheets of corrugated steel roofing fell down upon a dodging Freda, who was still slicing up flightless bats.

The group, safely away from the debris, gasped. "She's escaped!" Dragon Alina, closely followed by her mother, flew up through the hole Lyssa had created.

Freda's silhouette could be seen staring up at the break in the roof at some unseen aerial combat, as shafts of flame-driven light cast down upon her.

Everyone relaxed and started hugging and kissing with relief that it was all over for them. The sense of shared experience encouraged them to open up about their individual stories of how they found the club and became members of this freedom group.

Brenda and Georgie grinned at each other, soaking up the chatter, wanting to but unable to listen to each story with everyone talking excitedly at once as they found themselves to be the focus of most.

Brenda blushed as people asked about their arrival and how they appeared out of thin air with Alina. Georgie enjoyed the attention and retold their venture into another dimension with gusto, enjoying the hugs and kisses from strangers.

Maddy and Chloe joined those crowding them. Their hugs were the tightest, and their well-meant kisses of relief hung longer than the others. Their hands sought Brenda's and Georgie's to hold on to, trying to say something that remained unspoken.

As the group broke up, couples paired off. On the far side, Ben had his arm around a very happy Pete, as they moved away and were talking in depth.

Maddy visibly swallowed before saying. "We're glad that Denise found you two. To be honest, I think we were crappy friends to her."

"She was essentially a sweet, kind friend, but such an introvert." Chloe added.

Maddy blushed. "Our motto when away is to stick together. She was right behind us when we went to the bar, but was gone when we reached it... We tried to find her, but I think they must have directed her away from us, and vice versa, separating her out."

"That's what we thought." Brenda admitted, as Georgie nodded.

"But she was okay when she found you?"

"Yes, nervous but fine." Brenda glanced at Georgie biting her lip, also wanting to say more.

Chloe's thumb stroked the back of Georgie's hand as she squeezed it, gazing pleadingly into her eyes, melted Georgie's resolve, and she opened up.

"She caught us in the middle of... Er, something and joined us in our search for the toilets."

Neither Chloe nor Maddy saw anything untoward, shrugging, missing the innuendo and the glint of sexual guilt in both Brenda and Georgie's eyes.

"We needed some private time." Brenda suggested, looking frustratedly at the pair.

Georgie burst. "Oh, for goodness' sake. You straight girls don't catch on quick. We wanted to have sex."

Chloe relaxed her hand in surprise but didn't let go. Oddly, Maddy squeezed Brenda's tighter.

"Ah, oh, and she was your cold shower?" Choe asked, disappointed.

"Far from it." Brenda giggled. "She was cute in that mini." She ran her fingers through Maddy's blond strands of hair, causing her to blush and giggle.

Chloe and Maddy's eyes bulged, both their grips softening as they understood the message.

Georgie grinned. "The toilet was spotless, and the cubicle large enough, so we invited her to join us."

Chloe and Maddy exchanged knowing looks and drew themselves in closer to the two women.

"Did she?" Chloe struggled not to lick her lips, giggling, giving her excitement away.

"At first it looked like she wanted to, but maybe first-time nerves took hold and she hid in the next cubicle." Brenda said, hoping for another, even better opportunity for them to enjoy.

Georgie saw the growing interest in the pair of straight women. Both were almost panting in excitement. She ran her hand to Chloe's waist and felt an excited shiver run through her. She knew how to push it further.

"We invited her to watch and play with herself as Bren ate me out."

Chloe gasped, "I would have." As her eyes flashed with excitement and her lips hovered closer to Georgie's, whilst Georgie teased her hand over her butt cheeks, causing her to wriggle and squirm.

Both women held their breaths.

"I love teasing her clit with my tongue, whilst my fingers enjoy the wetness inside her pussy." Brenda whispered to Maddy, but loud enough for her friend to hear.

Chloe's eyes almost popped out on stalks as Brenda ran two fingers over Maddy's moist lips. Maddy kissed the digits before sucking them into her mouth as her hands pulled Brenda closer.

Georgie clasped Chloe's hip and ran her tongue over her willing partner's lips. Her warm breath played over an excited Georgie as she sucked on Chloe's wet bottom lip.

Georgie's pulse pounded in her ears as her teeth played on the soft tissue in her mouth, imagining how sexy it would be to draw blood and feel its life-giving warmth flood down her throat.

Maddy's teeth dragged over Brenda's fingers as she rhythmically sucked them in over her wet, warm lips to allow Brenda to pull them back until her teeth caught the last finger joint.

As Brenda playfully fought Maddy's teeth for her fingers, she wanted her to break the skin, imagining sharing the red excitement pulsing through her veins along her two digits like straws.

"For fuck's sake, STOP, everyone." Nick's voice rang out. "You're all still under the influence of the blood wine. Don't let it take over. Control yourselves."

Everyone parted, not just couples, but threes and fours, glancing around to see multiple flustered faces guiltily blushing fiercely. Many coughed embarrassed coughs whilst straightening clothes. A few muttered apologies to Nick.

Ben and Pete hastily separated, with Pete surprisingly zipping and buckling up his jeans as Ben blushed apologetically at him.

Maddy and Chloe, like Brenda and Georgie, now stood apart, holding hands but at arm's length. Neither couple could look at the other, as their faces glowed as bright as their own.

Nick and Kat strode around frustrated but then the diversion everyone wanted. A metallic crash from the far side of the factory drew their attention.

At first they all thought it was just from the loose sheets of steel and debris falling, but an incoherent black cloud formed beneath the hole in the roof as the flock of bats congealed to become a solid mass and now they could see Lyssa's face baring her fangs.

Lyssa accelerated at speed towards them. The group retreated to the alcove in response to the renewed threat, forgetting Nick's scolding as they clung onto each other. The few men remained defiantly at the front, along with Kat and Nick, their blades poised in the air.

On the far side of the factory, Freda turned into a blur as she chased after Lyssa, but despite her increased vampire speed, she would never catch Lyssa, who had already covered half the distance. Brenda clung to Georgie as other hands tightened on them.

A few sighs of relief came as Dragon Alina appeared through the hole in the roof, flying back into the factory. Her tail whipped through the roof behind her, bringing more steel sheets down. They failed to slow her pace as her massive beating wings soon propelled her to pass Freda, and close in on Lyssa.

The group tensed as they realised that even with her speed, Lyssa would reach them before dragon Alina could catch her. Lyssa's face was contorted with hatred, and her mouth hung open, ready to wreak havoc on any warm flesh with blood surging through it.

Her arms stretched out before her, with distorted hands brandishing long nails on talon-like fingers. Her dress flapped shapelessly behind her, as if there were nothing inside it.

The group felt helpless as Alina's flame plume fell short of her, and they performed like a colony as they all gripped each other tighter together as they could see Lyssa was almost upon them. Some gasped; others whimpered, whilst a few shouted defiantly.

They could see the victory in Lyssa's black eyes and on her face as she screamed as she flew unstoppably toward them.

A deafening clap of thunder caused everyone to flinch as the roof above them imploded, sending corrugated steel sheets to the floor in a cloud of powdered rust mixed with other detritus built up over many years.

Everyone below flattened themselves against the alcove wall to avoid the debris as a vast sheet of lightning hammered down to scorch the concrete floor between the terrified group and Lyssa, who had no air brakes to stop her from slamming into the barrier.

Lyssa gave a glass-shattering scream of pain as she bounced back, stunned and dropped to the floor. Rather than a dress-covered humanoid shape, all they could see was Lyssa's bemused face hovering over a pile of black, scorched material.

Her body no longer filled the dress, if you could call the shape inside a body as it was flopping around like a misshapen oversized seal, creating a macabre image.

Someone cried out the obvious, "She's lost more than half her body in bats!"

Everyone's relief at being saved was obvious as they nodded or murmured in agreement, trying not to cheer.

They gasped at Mother Alina hovering down through the new gaping hole in the roof to stand over Lyssa, with Dragon Alina flying defensively in front of the group, as her body coilingly swam behind her.

"You had your chance," Mother Alina scolded.

Lyssa glared back, hissing. "A curse."

Before she could finish any curse, Mother Alina's axe sliced beneath her head, but rather than falling to the floor, it disappeared into the cloud of dust which rose from the dress as it collapsed to a flattened, empty rag on the floor.

The group all held their breath, the same question on their lips:

'Was it finally over?'

Time stood still, for what seemed an age as a freezing breeze blew in through the immense hole above them, drawing eyes upwards to the fragile, fractured roof above. The wind rattled the loose, bent, and buckled sheets, indicating there was a new threat from the roof imminently collapsing down on them.

Alina's voice rang out. "Come on, everybody. Let's get out of here."

Brenda and Georgie joined the group's sigh of disappointment that their protective dragon was gone, as was their storm demon. Mother Alina still carried a presence in the room with her height, but with her horns no longer present, and her hair finally obeying gravity to hang about her shoulders.

The group didn't need to be told twice, and hands fell away to return to pockets or partners. They separated, but walked as a cohesive community to flow out of the empty factory through a freshly opened and now blatantly obvious rusty roller shutter door.

Despite having been warned earlier, they were still surprised to find they were in a poorly lit, disused industrial estate and not the glitzy edge of Berlin city centre.

Couples huddled together to fend off the freezing predawn cold as their breath froze. Nick and Kat led them through a maze of small dilapidated factory buildings, empty offices, and into back streets.

Freda collected the swords, which immediately disappeared, and she followed behind, encouraging people onward.

"The two Alinas aren't here?" Brenda told Georgie.

"Nah," she answered, nodding to the sky.

In the faint predawn glow, the dark silhouette of a snaking dragon silently flew at rooftop level. Glancing to the other side of the street, a six-foot high figure leapt and glided across gaps to run along roof ridges.

"They've not relaxed at all... You don't think we're still in danger?" Brenda whispered, not wanting to trigger unrest in the group.

"No. Maybe they're just being cautious. They did say Lyssa was involved with many groups."

"Do you think Maddy and Chloe would still be open to some first time fun?"

Georgie laughed, nodding at the pair, cuddling like lovers, as they walked. "I think they're focussed on their own first time."

"Shame, it was hot."

Georgie hugged her, kissing the top of her head. "It was, blood wine or not, but don't worry, I'll make it up to you, my brave little musketeer."

"They fired muskets, not swords."

"I don't care, you're still my hero. Anyway, the films show otherwise with copious sword fighting."

Brenda tutted and squeezed her tightly,

"I think I've grown out of Halloween now. Next year let's go on a cruise?"

Georgie chuckled. "You'd hate it." She nodded to the stream of survivors ahead of them. "Look, if it wasn't dark, it's like we're off on a day trip somewhere. "

In front of them, they saw Pete, clinging to Ben's arm, glancing back to them, whilst talking to him. Ben also glanced and nodded, but shocked them by kissing Pete, as he released and almost danced to the two friends, walking on their own.

"Hey, I just wanted to let you know." He grinned. "Forget Halloween. This is the best night of my life... He's kissed me, and promised more, in fact he's come clean... He used to fantasise about me whilst screwing all his girlfriends."

Pete blushed, biting his lips before continuing. "Never in a million years could I have wished such a thing... I've always wanted to dress but was never brave enough... Now he's asked if I could, and we're going shopping later."

Brenda winced as she asked, "Are you sure this is something that will last?"

"I don't care. I'm going with the flow as long as it lasts. He's never put his hands on me like he has this morning and I love it."

"Hey, hey, good for you. Good luck." Georgie spoke for the two of them.

"Thanks for being part of the catalyst." He turned and almost sprinted forward to return to a welcoming Ben, to hug and kiss him as Brenda and Georgie, cuddled, quietly chuckling.

"Do you think it will last, Gee?"

"Naa."

"Nor me." Brenda agreed as they walked on.

Kat passed them, working her way to the front of the group. "Kat, can I ask you something?" Brenda asked.

Kat slowed for them to catch up. "Of course."

"We get the blood wine issue when there are vampires around but why the fuss earlier when there were none?"

"Blood wine is a great aphrodisiac as you've experienced. But the side effect is the desire to either bite or be bitten. Perfect for a vampire ready to drain you, as it makes you a docile and willing victim. But if not? You painfully hurt someone, worse still, kill them."

"So you turn into a vampire?"

"No, not quite. People have been known to deteriorate to a sub-vampire culture, and easily controlled by any passing vampire. But more than likely become a serial killer, enslaved by their insatiable blood-lust or just poison themselves, with their bodies unable to digest clotting blood."

Kat shrugged, as if it were a common cold, and as they thanked her, she skipped on ahead.

The narrow side street opened up into a link road, which Nick told them they had to cross. Kat led the way. As they passed Nick, Brenda asked. "Surely the police will investigate when they find the bodies?"

Nick avoided the question and encouraged her onwards, but his face proved he knew more.

They hung back as they crossed the road for him to catch up. As they reached the pavement, Nick whispered.

"They'll only find charred remains of an illegal Halloween party, and dust, but they know... That is the trouble. But they can't deal with it."

"So you're almost state-sponsored killers?"

Nick shook his head, laughing. "No, not at all. They would arrest us at the drop of a hat if they could, but then they'd have to admit that vampires, storm demons, witches, and dragons exist, but luckily most evidence turns to dust."

"Or Alina burns it to a crisp." Brenda answered.

Kat led them to a darkened cafe, but after knocking on the door, lights came on and they were welcomed in.

Inside, the group all sat together whilst the waiters took orders for drinks and nibbles. Nick saw the questioning looks from the two women.

"We helped the cafe owner's family out a while back, so they're helping us in return."

Georgie hugged Brenda. "Come on, Bren. I think we've had our fill of Halloween and blood wine for a while. I don't know about you, but I need a cappuccino."

Nick glanced up at the sky. "Dawn will be here soon. Rest, luckily any blood wine in your systems will quickly cease to be effective, unlike a hangover."

Brenda huffed as Georgie guided her to a pair of seats. The staff were unfazed by the early hour, and breakfast snack menus were handed out. Along with others, they ordered coffee and something light to snack on.

The group, still in shock, all repeated their stories and shared, initially about their experiences at the club but then also why they were there.

Ben and Pete were the first to leave, having ordered a taxi. Pete had a grin a mile wide when Ben opened both the cafe and car's doors for him.

Maddy and Chloe avoided any reference to Denise, and after a drink were quick to book a taxi back to their hotel, vowing to pack and return home. Once inside the car they could be seen passionately kissing.

As the sky brightened, more of the group yawned before making their apologies and leaving. A few late-night stragglers, still in costume, drifted into the cafe after their own, probably less eventful club experiences. The ghosts and Frankenstein were ignored but the vampire and his victim were viewed with suspicion by the clientele.

Brenda and Georgie stayed, chatting with Nick and Kat, finding their company enjoyable.

Georgie looked out at the growing traffic in the Stråssa outside.

"It's weird in the daylight to believe everything that happened last night."

As yet another gaggle of costume wearing party goers staggered by, Georgie added.

"There's no way we're dressing up as vampires next year."

Brenda agreed. "Uh-huh... Is there something wrong with me? I lamented Denise's dreadful but necessary end, yet, I am not phased about us plunging a sword into a vampire's heart."

Nick and Kat smiled. "Nope, nothing wrong with you, it had to be done... Don't overthink it, you just happened to be in the wrong hotel at the wrong Halloween."

Georgie chuckled. "We can't really blame the hotel for vampires in their review... But, is it always like this?"

Nick proudly stated. "That was tame compared to a few we've been a part of, and the worse ones all seem to be at Halloween."

Kat rolled her eyes. "The first, at the railway station, was an eye-opener. So many vampires, so much magic, and beheadings."

Nick agreed, as Kat's eyes glazed over. "That's where I fell in love with Freda. She saved my life, and I was proud to save hers."

"I still can't believe she's really a vampire?" George whispered.

Kat nodded. "It's not a traditional relationship, but she's magically special."

"Is she ever tempted?" Brenda poked her neck with two hooked fingers, mimicking fang bites.

"No. I feel safer with her than with any other person in the world."

"Aren't you ever tempted to share, so you become immortal too?" Georgie gasped.

"NO!" Kat almost screamed, holding her hand over her mouth in surprise.

"No, never... She sees it as a curse, as she's experienced pain beyond our comprehension. The feed she's had tonight will keep her for a month or two, but eventually she'll have to feed again to avoid becoming a mindless beast, hellbent on killing in a bloodlust."

Kat noticed the friend's questioning eyes. "She feeds little and often, but never draining or killing, I truly believe that. She finds the lowest of the low, never innocent people, but rarely talks about it; it's not something she relishes."

Nick saw pain in Kat's face and changed the topic.

"Alina may have a foul temper, as has her mother. But so deep and loving. No other girlfriend would turn into a dragon to carry you across a moonlit forest to watch meteor showers from a mountaintop. More romantic than any dinner date."

Brenda and Georgie's jaws dropped open.

Kat laughed. "Remember that first time at the castle, in the great hall, she was furious, wanting to show her mothers and sisters that she was worthy of her name. Her face went bright red and poof."

Nick joined her in laughing out loud.

"She changed into the smallest dragon you could imagine, no bigger than you or I. Her sisters teased her, and she burst with fury. I thought she was going to burn the castle down. But she stormed outside and grew to become the most enormous, beautiful dragon. She flew down from a turret, impressing everyone, to give me my first dragon ride."

Nick almost swooned with the memory, but a waiter's arrival with more coffee halted Brenda and George's questions. They watched him until they were sure he was out of earshot before the friends gasped. "Castle?"

Nick and Kat pulled faces. "I think we've said way too much," Nick said, and Kat agreed.

Brenda caught Nick and Kat staring out the window in expectation. She and Georgie followed their gaze to see Mother Alina, Alina and Freda walking along the other side of the Stråssa, like any other weary, oddly dressed Halloween clubbers returning home.

Whilst mother and daughter still wore the same clothes, Freda was now wearing a wide-brimmed hat, shading her eyes behind a pair of sunglasses, with a long-sleeved coat. Her hands were buried deep in the coat's pockets.

"But she's a vampire?" Brenda questioned.

"A very rare day walker, something she mastered long ago. But not without its own pain. Don't worry, she won't turn to dust like others."

"Give them a shout to let them know we're all in here."

Nick chuckled. "It's okay. Alina's already asked where we are." Then he laughed louder as he tapped his head. "We're sort of telepathically linked, well it's more like she tells me, then reads my mind rather than I talk to her. She wishes you both all the best, by the way."

They stood opposite, waiting, as Kat and Nick got up and left a handful of Euro's on the table.

"This is where we leave you." Nick told them.

Kat smiled. "Do we need to ask you not to tell anyone about us?"

"Who's going to believe us, anyway?" Brenda gasped as they both shook their heads.

Brenda and Georgie held hands as they watched the pair leave to join and walk with their friends until they were out of sight.

~~~Fin ~~~

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Nellymcboatface