favvamp1

Florine Atner November 10, 1999

Disclaimer: The characters of Simon and Simon do not belong to me. This is for entertainment purposes only.

OUR FAVORITE VAMPIRE

CHAPTER I - THE ENCOUNTER

Rick drove the PowerWagon towards Lake Topano. Next to him sat A.J. They had decided to go fishing on this particular weekend because the case they had been working on had been so trying. Their client, Mr. William Barnett, owned Barnett's Discount Store. It was the largest discount store in San Diego. He was experiencing a series of thefts that was causing him to lose money. Everything that wasn't nailed down was being stolen. He had hired the Simons' to find the person or persons responsible for the thefts. To accomplish this, the boys had disguised themselves as an assortment of people: plumbers, carpenters, "Will Kill Pest Control" workers, even as census takers. But they had found nothing in the two weeks that they were working on it. Meanwhile, the thefts continued unabated. As you can imagine, Mr. Barnett was not happy. He accused them of being incompetent and then he fired them. As expected, Rick hadn't taken kindly to the insult and had tried to take a poke at Barnett. A.J. had to restrain him. Town had suggested that they take a vacation in order to cool off. Cecilia had also suggested it. So there they were, miserable, driving towards the lake, not knowing that they were soon to have a close encounter they would not soon forget.

In an alternate Universe, near a blackhole, Martin Cunningham was having problems of his own. His first mate and partner Jamie, an android that his father had created, was piloting their two man ship 'The Kindred'. They were running from some renegade Klingons named the Durras Sisters. They wanted the cargo that was aboard the ship and Marty wasn't about to give it to them. He was an incredibly handsome vampire. That's right, a vampire. He was 6'.2" with jet black hair, turquoise blue eyes that twinkled mischievously, a medium sized nose and full sensuous lips. And he always wore black clothing. He was a private investigator, a profession where his unusual talents could be used to their full potential. And because of these talents, he was very successful at his job. He was one tough cookie.

Now, as Marty watched the Klingon Bird of Prey, The Warrior' maneuver him into a corner, he hissed and growled. He loaded his phasers, and fired them, hitting the Bird of Prey slightly. He was about to make his getaway when a Romulan warbird uncloaked. Now he was in real trouble. It was now two against one. He had two choices. One, he could surrender the cargo or two, he could fight. He looked at the odds and knew that neither option was feasible. But he did have a third option: the blackhole. He turned to his shipmate and said, "Jamie, we are not going to surrender this cargo and we are not going to fight because we would lose. However, we are going to take a trip into the unknown,"

"What do you mean Martin?" asked Jamie.

"What I mean is, we are going through that blackhole," said Marty, pointing at the swirling hole.

"But Martin, it has never been done before. The chances that we will survive is one billion to one against us."

"Well, it's better odds than what we've got now which is zero!"

Marty knew what Jamie meant. No one had ever gone through a black hole. Marty's father had theorized about travel to other universes, but it had never been tested. Now Marty and Jamie were about to prove his father's theory. Marty gave Jamie the command to turn the ship towards the blackhole and since he wanted to save his warp drive, he ordered Jamie to go impulse. Jamie executed the orders and the Kindred turned around and went towards the blackhole. As the ship got closer to the hole, it got caught in its gravitational pull and the pull drew the ship nearer and nearer to it. Marty shut down the engine and let the pull of the hole take them in. He looked at his rear view screen to see if the two ships were following him. They weren't. They just stood there. Then he heard a beeping sound. It was the communicator. He turned it on and said very sweetly, "Yes?"

Mata Durass, the uglier of the two sisters came on. "Cunningham, Cunningham," she said, "Why must you be so stubborn? Give us the cargo and you and the android will be set free."

Marty answered, "Sure, I'll give you the cargo....when hell freezes over!"

"Cunningham, do you want to die? You will if you go in there!"

"Well luv, I'll take my chances. Hey, you want to join us? Come and join us into the unknown. If you dare!" challenged Marty "

But neither sister answered. When he saw that the Durass Sisters weren't going to take him up on his offer, he just smiled at them and then closed communications. "Cowards, fools!" he said as he settled back to let the black hole pull him to his destiny.

"A.J., you should have let me hit him!"

"Oh that would have been great! Then he would have us up on charges of assault and battery. I think it was better that we left!"

"But A.J., he called us incompetent! He called us amateurs! I don't understand it! How could those guys be stealing with us watching the place consistently?"

"I don't know, but something is not kosher. We know that they are stealing, we just can't figure it out how they are doing it!"

Rick muttered something under his breath, shook his head and sighed. He decided to turn on the radio. His favorite talk show was on and he loved to hear all the weird subjects and people that the show always had.

"Hello, this is Jerry Wilson and today's topic is UFOs. Are they real or are they figment of our imaginations? With us today is Prof. William Johnson of the UFO Institute of San Diego'. Prof. Johnson, are you a believer in UFOs?"

"I'm not sure Jerry. There are so many things in the world that can't be explained. There have been quite a few sightings since 1946, when the first UFO or Unidentified Flying Object was seen in Roswell, New Mexico. Since then, people from all the world have reported seeing unusual objects in the sky."

As Prof. Johnson continued, Rick and A.J. listened to him. Finally a commercial came on and A.J. just shook his head.

"UFOs, really! Next thing they're going to say is that vampires are real!"

"Hey, who knows? A.J., they could be real. UFOs I mean. Like that professor said, there are a lot of unexplained things...."

"Yeah like, where do you put all that food? Or, why you are one of the laziest, free loaders around? chided A.J.

"Or why you insist on worrying about tomorrow!" replied Rick back to his brother. "A.J., you've got learn to relax! Look at me. You say I'm lazy, I say I just enjoy life more. Just relax and enjoy the scenery. Soon we will be up in the mountains, enjoying the mountain air and eating fresh caught fish. Now that's living!"

A.J. just shook his head, shrugged and did as Rick suggested. He settled back and enjoyed the scenery.

Marty and Jamie saw the debris of a thousand worlds go by as the ship floated through the black hole. As Marty looked over to Jamie, he wondered if he had done the right thing, going through the black hole. He wondered that maybe, he should have let the Durass Sisters have whatever it was he had. But then again, he thought, the Durass Sisters could not be trusted to keep a promise. That's when he knew that he had made the right decision. If the sisters had gotten hold of Jamie or the cargo, the Federation would be in deep trouble.

"Well Jamie, are you enjoying the scenery?" he asked.

"Martin, I do not enjoy scenery. However, I am fascinated by it. I am recording it for analysis later. What we find out today will be of great scientific importance."

"C'mon, don't you feel anything?"

"No Martin, I feel nothing."

"You're not awed by it? Hell, I am!"

"You are awed by it because you feel emotions. I do not feel emotions. I do not have them and I do not wish them."

"Too bad, emotions sometimes can be fun and I think I see a dark at the end of the tunnel."

"Martin, don't you mean a light at the end of the tunnel?"

"No, I mean a dark at the end of the tunnel because we are almost near the end. Look!"

Jamie looked and sure enough, he could see darkness. He then turned to Marty.

"Ah, now I understand. You like to play with words, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. Words are not just letters strung together. They can impress and express. They are powerful when used properly. But now we have other things to talk about, like, where are we going to go?"

As Marty said it, the ship began to go faster and faster. It popped out of the black hole and into a starry sky.

"Hmm, it does not seem to be too different from our own universe." announced Jamie.

"Yeah, you're right! So if this universe is similar to ours, then there must be an Earth," said Marty.. "Let's check it out!"!

"Very well Martin, I will plot a course to where Earth would be."

Marty turned on the warp engine while Jamie plotted the course to Earth. The ship went into warp drive and they were on their way. They traveled for a while and when they arrived at their destination, Marty had Jamie take them out of warp. They orbited the planet while Jamie took readings.

"Well, it's looks like home, but is it really Earth?"

"Yes, I believe that this is Earth. It is a Class M planet like our Earth, and has the same atmosphere as our Earth, except for the pollution that is in several industrialized areas of the planet."

"Smog, Jamie. It's called smog and right now I love every stinky bit of it! How industrialized is it?"

Jamie pushed some more buttons, then said, "On the Henderson Scale of one to ten, it is a six It seems to be the late Twentieth Century, around 1980-1999, but I am not sure what year."

"That's okay, we can find out by listening to their communications. Now, let's land and check out this planet! Jamie, get ready for entry into the atmosphere. Slow engines."

Jamie slowed the engines. Marty then took over the controls. He started the entry, but came in a little too steep and the ship began to heat too fast. He struggled against the heat, but the ship began to buckle and shake, throwing Jamie off his seat. He got back on his seat and strapped himself in. Marty did the same. Marty tried to control the ship, but it shook so much that they were afraid that it would shake apart. But Marty, the consummate pilot that he was, kept it on course. He broke through the clouds and saw land. And trees. Nothing but trees and more trees. He looked at the sensors and knew that he had to land, otherwise, he would crash. He hoped that he could find a bare spot, but there was none. Just as he was about to give up, he saw a clearing. In this clearing was a cabin and two men arguing. It was perfect.

"Okay, brace yourself, we are about to land!"

Jamie looked at the two men arguing and asked, "Do you think those two men will be friendly?"

I hope so my friend, I really hope so!"

Rick drove up to the cabin Carlos had lent them. A.J. took one look at it and said in disgust, "No way Rick, no way am I staying in this broken down excuse for a cabin!"

"Ah, c'mon, this is what rustic is all about!" answered Rick enthusiastically.

The cabin, if that's what you could call it, was a run-down dilapidated shack. One shutter hung off a broken window. The door was ajar and hung lopsided. Little furry animals ran in and out of it. There was a set of steps that went up to the cabin. Rick got out of the truck and walked to the steps. He then climbed them to the cabin.

"C'mon A.J., a little elbow grease and the place will be as good as new!"

A.J. looked again at the cabin, sat there for a few moments and then, against his better judgement, got out of the truck. He started up the stairs and when he got to the third step, his foot fell through and his leg got stuck in the hole. He started yelling, "Rick, Rick help me, I'm stuck!"

Rick started down the stairs to help him, but when he got to the fourth step, he heard a crack. He pulled his leg back and realized that if he put his whole weight on it, all the stairs and half of the porch would go with it. He decided instead to jump down from the porch and help his brother from the ground. He jumped and landed next to A.J. and then walked up behind him. He took hold of the leg and started pulling.

"Ow! Watch it! That hurts!" complained his brother.

"Hey, I'm sorry, but this leg is in tight! Relax, I'll get it out. Now start pulling!"

They both pulled and A.J. finally got his leg out. He walked down the one stair and started walking around to get his circulation back. When he got it back, he walked to the truck and was about to get in when Rick exclaimed, "Where are you going?"

"Home Rick! I refuse to stay another minute in this disaster! I was stupid to listen to you! It's too late to go back now, but I did see a small motel about six miles down the mountain. If I hurry, I can probably get a room. If you want to come, you may, but I will not stay another minute in this place!"

"Aw c'mon A.J., you're not going let a broken stair ruin it for us? Look, there's a lake and all those fish just waiting to be caught! It's a fisherman's paradise!"

"You mean it's a fisherman's hell! Like I said, I refuse...."

A.J. never finished his sentence. Just at that moment, a brilliant light appeared in the sky and then there was a whoosh. Rick looked up and saw what looked like something on fire. It streaked by them, going at a tremendous speed, then hit the ground about 200 ft. from them and started skidding. A.J. and Rick started running toward the object. They came to where the object had finally stopped. They could not believe what they saw! It was a spaceship. It was about the size of a medium sized jet, silver and shaped like a bat. Rick whistled at the incredible sight.

"A.J., there is a....a...."

"Spaceship," finished his brother. "We have a spaceship, now what do we do with it?"

"We explore it, of course!" said his brother excitingly. "Maybe there are friendly aliens on board!"

"Or maybe they aren't so friendly."

They looked at each other and hoped the aliens would be friendly. They slowly walked towards the ship and stood before it. They began to look for a way in. Finally, Rick located a small button near the base of the door and pushed it. Nothing happened.

"I guess that wasn't it," said the lanky cowboy.

" I guess not. Why don't we use the crowbar from the PowerWagon to open it?" suggested A.J.

"Not a bad idea, I'll get it." replied Rick

But then, the door suddenly slid open. They looked at each other, took out their guns and walked into the unknown.

Marty controlled the ship so he would not hit the cabin or the two men. When he saw the ground hurtling towards him, he pulled back in order to skid instead of just crashing. He hit the ground and began to skid. He skidded about 100 ft. before the ship finally came to a stop. However, when the ship stopped, he was jerked forward, hitting his head against the console. He felt himself starting to lose consciousness. But before he could lose it, he put himself into rest mode (he slowed down his heart beat and went into a sort of sleep) so that he would be able to wake when it became dark. Jamie however was fine. He noticed that was Marty bent over, so he got up from his seat and went over to check him. He called his name, "Martin. Martin?"

But there was no answer. That's when he realized that Marty had put himself into rest mode. He opened his forward screen to check how soon the sun would go down. He noticed that the sun was low in the sky. In two hours the sun would go down and his captain would awaken. Until then, he would assess the damage to the ship. By the time Marty woke up, he would have at least a partial list of what repairs would be needed. As Jamie walked to the door, it slid open and he proceeded to go to the engine room, just missing A.J. and Rick as they entered the ship.

A.J. and Rick walked down the corridor, just missing Jamie. They walked into the bridge and were impressed by what they saw. It was like something out of a science fiction movie. Then they notice a man sitting in what seemed to be the pilot's seat. A.J. walked over to see if the man was alive. He checked his pulse. He felt nothing. A.J. shook his head at Rick and was about to straighten up when he heard a voice say, "That's far enough! Please turn around and raise your hands. Do not move unless I tell you to."

A.J. and Rick turned slowly and were in for a shock when they saw Jamie. He stood there holding a phaser. He looked just like A.J. . He had the same color hair, blue eyes and even the same lips as A.J. The only difference was that he had a mustache. In fact, he looked just like Jack Simon, A.J. and Rick's father!

"Again, I ask, who are you?"

A.J. tried to answer, but only noise came out of him. Rick just looked shocked.

"Ah, you do not speak my language," declared the android.

He then started talking to them in Spanish, then Italian, Russian, Greek, German, French and a number of other languages. When they still didn't answer, he began to use sign language. When that didn't work, he was finally perplexed.

"I do not understand, why are you not......?"

"Because we were shocked, that's all," said A.J., finally finding his voice. "You just surprised us, I never thought I'd see myself again!"*

"See yourself again? I do not understand...? What are you talking about?" asked the perplexed android.

"It's a long story, what s your name?" answered A.J.

"My name is Jamie and this is Captain Martin Hopkirk Cunningham III," replied Jamie. "This ship is called the Kindred. Capt. Cunningham owns the Kindred. I am his partner and first mate."

He extended his hand to shake hands, but when Rick took it, he really took it. For when he grabbed the hand to shake it, it came off.

"Huh, what the......!" stated the surprised man.

"Hmm, it seems I did sustain some damage in the crash. May I have it back, please?"

"Hey...what heck are you...?" asked the perplexed Rick.

"He's a robot, Rick!" answered his brother.

"No, I am an android. Now, may I have my hand back please?"

"Oh, right...here. Sorry." Rick gave him back his hand.

"That is quite alright. Thank you..." replied the android as he took the hand from Rick and reattached it to his arm.

"My name is Rick Simon and this is my brother A.J."

"Hello!" replied A.J.

"How do you do." answered Jamie formally.

"Ah look, I'm sorry about your captain, but I'm afraid he's dead," A.J. told him.

"No Mr. Simon, he is not dead," answered Jamie

"But I felt his pulse and he had none!" replied A.J.

"Very true, but he is not dead, just resting. He will awaken when the sun goes down."

"When the sun goes down? What is he, a vampire?" wisecracked A.J.

"Yes, Mr. Simon, that is exactly what Martin is....a vampire."

"He's a what?" questioned A.J., not believing what he just heard.

"I repeat Mr. Simon, Martin is a bloodsucking, six hundred year old vampire," answered Jamie matter-of-factly. "And we come from an alternate universe."

"He's a vampire and from an alternate universe too? You've got to be kidding!" said an amused Rick.,

"Why would I kid you? I am incapable of, as you say, kidding around. We are from an alternate universe and Martin really is a vampire. And when the sun goes down, he will awaken."

Just as those words were leaving Jamie's lips, the computer started to give a warning. "WARNING, WARNING! ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEM CONTROLS BREAKING DOWN! POISONOUS ZETATE GAS WILL BE RELEASED IN FOUR MINUTES. ALL LIFE FORMS MUST BE OUT OF SHIP BY THAT TIME. WARNING! WARNING!"

"Gentlemen, you must leave now and take Martin with you! I will stay to fix the problem. You now have three minutes and forty three seconds until the gas is released. Now, please, hurry!"

A.J. and Rick went over to the console to get Marty out of the chair. But they couldn't get his hand off the joy stick. His hand was so tightly wrapped around it, it was impossible to get him to let go. The brothers knew that time was running out and at that moment, a decision was made by Rick. He quickly took out his lock-picking tools he always carried and removed a small screwdriver. He began to unscrew the stick.

"You now have two minutes and six point one seconds!" announced Jamie.

"Hurry up Rick!" said A.J.

"I'm hurrying as fast as I can. This is bolted on good!"

After a few seconds, Rick got it unloose, and the two were able to take Marty, joystick still gripped in his hand, and remove him from the chair. They started running for the bridge door. The door flew open, and the two men, each holding Marty between them, ran down the corridor and outside. At that moment, the ship's door shut tight and they heard the computer voice say, "ALL PERSONNEL NOW OUT OF SHIP. CLOSING ALL EXITS UNTIL GAS DISSIPATES"

They took Marty to the cabin and Rick cleared off the bed which was full of leaves They laid Marty gently down on the bed and then they sat down, still reeling from what they just experienced.

"Rick, did we just save a vampire?" asked A.J., not sure what just happened.

"Yeah, I think we did," answered Rick, still trying to figure out what happened.

"And did we just meet a guy who looks like me and Dad and is an android?"

"Yep, we did."

"And, are we both awake?"

"Yep."

"That's what I thought. I was hoping it was a dream, but it isn't, is it?"

"Nope."

Just as A.J. was about to say something else, Jamie came in carrying two silver cases. He put them down in a corner and walked over to where A.J. and Rick was sitting. He said to them, "The sun is almost down and six minutes after it goes down, Martin will waken."

"Well, I guess I'll make dinner. Rick give me the pork'n' beans and some hot dogs. I'll make that tonight. I think we've got enough for four."

"Thank you, but Martin only drinks blood, and I do not eat at all."

"Oh okay. Rick go get the food and bring it in."

"Right A.J.!"

He got up and walked out. In about three minutes, he came back with just one can of pork n' beans. And that's all.

"Rick, where are the rest of the supplies?" asked his brother.

"Ah, there aren't any. The stuff got ruined. Some animals got to it and stole the fresh stuff. All we got left is canned food, and some of that was ruined too."

"Oh no, what else can happen?"

"Hey, don't worry, I'll just go fishing and get us some big ole fish!"

"But wait, it's too late to fish. It's nearly dark. I'll warm up the pork n' beans and we can have that. Tomorrow, I'll go to that store next to the motel I was telling you about and get more supplies."

A.J. took the can and went to the stove, but there was no wood. "Oh great, there's no wood. The end of a perfect day. Rick, since you're responsible for bringing me to this paradise, the least you can do is cut the wood."

"Sure A.J. no problem, " answered Rick.

He went to get his axe and was about it go out when Jamie said, "Excuse me, but I think I can help so you won't have to go out there."

He bent over one of the silver cases and opened it. There were several small packages and a round shiny silver object. He took out two of the packages, the silver object and placed the packages on it. He then took out a phaser, set it and then pointed it at the object. A burst of light came out of it and hit the object, making it glow. In about six seconds the two packages had grown to six times their size.

Meanwhile, A.J. took out of his knapsack, two plastic plates, forks and knives and placed them on the table. Then he and Rick sat down. Jamie picked up the two steaming packages, brought them over to the table, pulled the tabs on each of them and poured the contents on to the plates. A.J. and Rick could not believe it. It was a whole meal. There were two pieces of what looked like chicken, only it was blue, a purple and orange vegetable and green colored mash potatoes. Well, it looked like mash potatoes.

"Here are your meals. I hope you like them, I am afraid it is only survival food."

A.J. and Rick looked at it. Rick was the first to try it. First he smelled it. It didn't smell bad. Then he tasted it. It was delicious.

"Hey, this stuff is good! Try it, A.J. it's delicious!"

A.J. tried it and sure enough, it passed even his fussy tastes.

"This is survival food?" he asked.

"Yes, it is. I am afraid that it is not as good as regular food, so I've been told. All ships have these survival kits on them. It is the law. This should hold you until you get fresh supplies. I am sorry your supplies got eaten by wild animals."

"Hey, it's not your fault," said Rick "And the sun is down. Your friend should wake up soon."

"Yes, in four minutes to be exact"

When the four minutes passed and Marty still hadn't woken up, Jamie went to the bed and checked him.

"Hmm," he said. (That hmm' was a habit that A.J. and Rick were to get to know very well), "Let us wait a few more minutes while I check my files on vampires. Perhaps by then, he will be awake."

But six minutes passed, then six more. It was a half an hour and still Marty did not wake up. Now Jamie was concerned.

"It is just as I feared. Martin has put himself in such a deep trance that he is unable to awaken. We will have to help him. If we do not, he will rest for a hundred years."

"What has to be done?" asked Rick curiously.

"First, he must be buried in the ground for twenty-four hours, then we must dig him up and do a certain ritual. Only then will he awaken," explained Jamie.

"Okay, so what is this ritual?" asked A.J.

"After we dig him up, fresh human blood must be poured over his body and then given to him through the mouth." replied Jamie, emphasizing the fresh human blood' part.

"Human blood, like let's say, ours?" questioned Rick.

"Yes, but if you or your brother do not wish to give, I will understand."

"Just how much is needed?" asked A.J.

"Oh, just a pint, that is all. Just enough to pour on him and just enough for him to drink. Very little."

"Well, don't worry. I'll do it!" volunteered A.J. .

"Whatta mean, you'll do it! I'll do it!" said Rick.

"Wait gentlemen, perhaps both of you can give a little each. It does not matter how it is given, just as long as it is given. I will mix your blood together. But I must tell you that both of you will be telepathically bonded to him."

"What do you mean by telepathically bonded?" asked A.J. nervously.

"I will explain. When a mortal is bitten by a vampire or gives his blood to him or her, even a little bit, they are become bonded. What you would have with him would be a telepathic bond. All of you would be able to talk to each other telepathically. But it is limited. To be completely bonded to him so that the telepathic bond would be stronger, you would have to be bitten, and he would not do that unless he felt that he needed to."

"But won't we turn into vampires if he did bite us?" asked A.J.

"In the old days yes. But an antidote to the virus that causes vampirism was discovered many years ago and Martin takes it everyday to keep himself from spreading the virus. He understands his duty to the pack. Now we must bury him. I will explain more as we dig the hole. Please pick him up and carry him out. I will get the digger. Now hurry, we must get him buried before the moon rises!"

They picked up the vampire, carried him outside and gently put him down on the porch. Rick jumped down to avoid the broken steps and then helped A.J. get Marty off the porch. A.J. took hold of Marty's arms and lifted him up and then Rick took hold of his legs and both of them gently got him off the porch. They put him on the ground and then waited for further instructions. While that was going on, Jamie went back into the ship and returned with what looked like a small robot. It was about three feet tall and bullet shaped. It had two long arms sticking out it's body with shovels attached to them.

Jamie put it down and said, "Droid dig."

The Droid started up and began to dig. As it dug, dirt flew all over the place, some of it landing on Rick's boots. He had to shake the dirt off them.

"Droid stop!" ordered Jamie when he saw the hole was the size he wanted.

The Droid stopped.

"Now, we will put Martin into the hole and the Droid will bury him."

Jamie went over to where Marty was lying and picked him up, carried him to the hole and gently put him in it. He then climbed out of the hole and said to the Droid, "Droid, bury him."

The Droid immediately obeyed and started throwing dirt into the hole, covering Marty's body. When the Droid had him completely covered, it stopped.

"Now we wait," said Jamie. "I will stay here with Martin. Someone must watch over him." He sat down next to the hole and said nothing more.

"Jamie?" called A.J.

"Yes A.J.?"

"Do you want us to take turns? So you can sleep?"

"No thank you A.J. I will stay here all night. I do not need sleep. You and your brother go to bed. Good night A.J. and Rick Simon."

"Well, good night Jamie. See you tomorrow," replied A.J.

The two brothers carefully walked up the stairs and just as they got to the top, Jamie said, "Tomorrow, I will fix those stairs. We do not want any more accidents to occur."

"Thanks Jamie!" answered Rick to Jamie's generous offer, much to his relief. At least now, his brother will stop giving him dirty looks. They went into the cabin, closed the door and went to bed. In a half an half an hour, they were fast asleep.

A.J. was the first to wake up the next morning. It was a clear, clean morning. The sun was bright and strong. It was a perfect day. A.J. went over to the window to see how Jamie was doing. He was still sitting there. He hadn't moved. A.J. walked out of the cabin and went over to the android and said, "Good Morning, Jamie. How was your night?"

"It was fine. I was listening to the noise that the animals made in the night."

"Yeah, they do tend to be a little noisy. Did any come over to the cabin?"

"No, none."

"Jamie, tell me more about Marty." asked A.J. as he went to sit in the dirt.

"Of course, Martin is what is called a private investigator. I am his partner."

"You and Martin are private investigators? So are we! Our agency is called Simon and Simon, Confidential Investigations'. And yours?"

"Ours is called Vampire for Hire'. I usually do the research for whatever case we are on. I also go out on cases that deal with scientific subjects. And although his father is a famous scientist, Martin is not interested in such things. His father is Prof. Anthony Cunningham, my creator. Prof. Cunningham is also the one that discovered that vampires are not dead, but living beings. He studied his son and found out these things. He created the pill I told you about. The one that keeps vampires from spreading the virus that causes vampirism. It was his father that gave us this job we were on when we came here." Jamie then explained the cause of their being in Simons' world. By this time, Rick had joined them. A.J. told Rick what Jamie had told him.

"Wow, you guys went though a black hole? That's fantastic!" said Rick in awe.

"Martin was determined to make sure that the Durass Sisters didn't get the cargo. Do you know what the cargo is?" asked A.J.

"No, I do not," replied Jamie. "However, I do know that it was important enough for the Durass Sisters to want it. They would not have chased us if they did not want it so badly."

"So, why don't we find out what it is? Maybe that could tell you why they were so eager to get it," remarked Rick.

"Yes, I was thinking of doing it when Martin woke up. Until then, I suggest that you go on with whatever you were planning to do today."

"Well, I'll go down to the store next to the motel and get us more supplies and Rick was planning to go fishing."

"Right, I'll catch us some big ole fish. You don't eat Jamie? Too bad."

"No I do not eat. When you have made the fish, the both of you can eat it out here if you wish. I will not leave Martin."

"How come you can't leave him?" asked A.J.

"Well, you see, he is very vulnerable right now. He is resting. If anybody were to know that he was here, they could easily stake him!"

"That's understandable since vampires are misunderstood," said Rick.

"That is true. Vampires tend to be misunderstood because people do not know the truth. They only believe the fairy tales about them,"

"Well, we would like to learn more about them," said Rick.

"Excellent! Martin and I shall teach you all we know about vampirism."

"You can start teaching us when I return from the store and Rick comes back from fishing."

"Very well, we can start then. Meanwhile I will continue my vigil."

A.J. got up and looked at his pants. They were all dirty "Aw shit, Now, I'm going to have to change my pants. I'll get changed and go." He walked back to the cabin and in about five minutes, he had changed into clean pants. He then walked to the PowerWagon, got in and drove away.

Rick then got up, went into the cabin and came out with his fishing gear. He hadn't changed his pants.

"Rick, how come you did not change your pants?"

"Oh, I'm not as fussy as my brother. I don't care If my pants or my clothes are dirty. It's just not that important."

"Hmmmm. Rick Simon, you are a very interesting human, I think I shall study you. Do you mind if I do?"

"I guess not. How will you study me, anyway?"

"Oh, I shall observe how you do things. Your reaction to certain situations. Your relationship with your brother. Just before we crashed, we observed you arguing with him. Why were you two arguing?"

"Oh, he didn't like the way the cabin looked and that his foot fell through the step. And he was upset because we lost a important job."

"What kind of case were the two of you working on and how did you lose it?"

Rick explained to Jamie about the case and how baffling it was.

When he was done, Jamie said, "Well, do not worry. Martin and I have experience with unusual cases. We shall help you. I know that after he realizes what you have done for him, he will help. He always pays a debt. You will see, he will help."

A.J. drove down the mountain to the store next to the little motel. There were about thirty 4 X 4's and trucks parked there. People were milling about. They were each carrying a shotgun. A.J. walked into the motel. A man was talking to about fifty people inside the small dining room.

"Okay, we know it landed not far from here. Joe Thomas said he saw the UFO crash over by Lake Topano. We're gonna set up a search party and find it. We are gonna find it before it gets us!""

"Yeah, Yeah!" shouted one of the men in the room. "Let's go find it!"

"A.J. didn't like the sound of that. He knew that Jamie and Marty were in terrible danger. Especially Marty, vulnerable as he was. He had to get back and warn his brother and Jamie. They had to get rid of the ship. As long as the ship was there, the two aliens would be in danger. He decided to forgo the food. He figured his two new friends were more important, not to mention that Rick was all by himself. He turned around and started to walk out, but then the owner noticed him and said, "Excuse me, may I help you?"

A.J. turned back around and said, "Oh hi. I wanted to get supplies, but I can come back when you're not too busy."

"No, don't go, I'll get them for you. You hunting around here?"

"No, my brother and I came here to fish. What's going on?"

"You don't know? A UFO was spotted yesterday. A lot of folks seen it. You fishing at the lake?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, ain't that where Joe saw the UFO crash?" remarked a rather large red-headed man. "And you don't know about it? Seems rather peculiar, don't you think?"

"Well, it's a large lake. It could have crashed on the other side. And besides, how do you know it's a UFO?" asked A.J., hoping to discourage them from going there.

"Are you calling me a liar?" said an incensed Joe.

"Of course not, I'm just saying you could be mistaken. It could have been a weather balloon, a meteorite or just about anything." said A.J. shrugging his shoulder. "I'm just saying it could have been any of those things, that's all!"

"You know, he could be right, remarked Lou. "Maybe we're overreacting to the situation."

"You're absolutely right, all of you are overreacting." said a voice.

"Everyone turned around. The local sheriff was there.

"I want everybody to go home. I'll investigate the report."

"But Sheriff Hardison, I know what I saw!" said Joe.

"I know you know what you think you saw, but you and your friends are not taking the law into your own hands. The law's my job, not yours. This town hired me to keep the peace and I'm gong to do it the best way I know how. Now, everybody go home!"

Edward J. Hardison was not a man to trifle with. He had once been a New York cop, but had retired six years before. He was a big man with shock of black hair, brown eyes, and a scar on his cheek from a knife that a punk had pulled on him twelve years before. So he knew his job.

"I said, Go home!" repeated Hardison.

All the men grumbled, but they did what they were told. He then turned his interest to A.J.

"And who are you? I've never seen you around here before."