Chapter 20: Old Bram again!

While everyone stands around, Sunny lets out a sigh. "Alright, I'll pa—"

She's cut off by Jamal, who snaps his fingers, and a saxophone appears in his hands. "Alright, I'll earn us some money! We'll head to that café, and I'll perform for everyone!"

Sunny raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

Jamal nods confidently. "Yeah, I love performing, and I don't mind. Besides, after all this, I'll have some spending money!"

Sunny shrugs. "Alright, less money I have to spend. Aight, let's head to that café and see if that woman working the counter is cool with you playing."

Sunny drives to the café and checks to see if it's open. To her surprise, it is!

Jamal, full of confidence, strolls inside and spots the same woman at the counter. "Hey, Tammy! What's up?"

Tammy looks up, surprised. "Wow, and here I was, ready to close up my store. What brings you here?"

Jamal grins. "Well, I want to perform here! What do you say?"

Tammy leans over the counter, intrigued. "Sure, hun. But you better bring in the whole town!"

Jamal laughs. "Shit, girl, I'd bring in all of Colorado if I could." He does a little dance and plays a few notes on his saxophone.

Tammy giggles. "Well, you better put on a show, and maybe I'll put on a show for you later," she says with a wink.

A little while later, Jamal pokes his head through the RV door. "Yeah, I'll be here for a bit longer!"

Luna gives him a thumbs-up. "Sunny, he's being... what did you call it again?"

As Jamal shuts the door and strolls back into the café, Sunny shouts, "A hound dog!"

Luna sits down next to Sunny in the front. "So, how long do you think he's gonna be?"

Sunny taps her foot thoughtfully. "Either ten minutes or three hours." She lets out a small cackle. "But since he's performing to earn money for our hunt, I won't tease him. He can have his fun."

After roughly an hour, Jamal finally makes his way back into the RV.

Luna notices some lipstick on Jamal's clothes. "Oh."

Jamal yawns, clearly exhausted, and heads off to get some shut-eye. After all, he wants to be well-rested for tomorrow.

The next morning, at roughly ten o'clock, Sunny is the first to wake up. "Alright! Breakfast's ready. If any of y'all are wondering, Eddy went back to his store around eight this morning."

Jamal keeps a cheerful grin throughout breakfast, still excited to perform later.

"So, uh, this creature we're hunting—you mentioned Bram. Who's that?" Luna asks after taking a sip of coffee.

Sunny flips a pancake with practiced ease. "Bram is the second vampire to ever exist. The first is Dracula. You see, Dracula is the son of Vlad the Impaler, and Bram is Dracula's son. But for unknown reasons, Bram possesses wildly different abilities from his father."

Luna looks confused. "Wait, what do you mean? Shouldn't their abilities be the same if they're father and son?"

Sunny slices some butter and spreads it on a piece of toast. "Nope! No one knows who Bram's mother was. Some believe she might've been a dryad or even a druid. Bram, however, had the ability to transform into any animal or monster he desired. His father, on the other hand, was a master of magic. It's rumored that Dracula could terraform an entire continent if he wanted to."

Luna tilts her head, trying to wrap her mind around it. "Wait, wait, wait—are either of them even alive?"

Sunny shrugs as she places a stack of pancakes on the table. "No clue. We know Dracula and Bram both existed because vampires from their bloodline are still around. But plenty of other vampires went on to create their own families too."

Luna quickly snaps back to reality after staring at the food being cooked. "Oh, I see! So then that bat-like creature—what is it exactly?"

Sunny ponders for a moment before flipping some pancakes onto a plate. "If I had to guess, it most likely belongs to the Gravestalker family. His family can transform into something similar that most humans mistake for gargoyles. By the way, real gargoyles actually protect people, so if you encounter one, they might help you out!"

Luna's face brightens with a smile. "That's good to hear! So, what if this bat monster turns out to be a bigger threat than we anticipated?"

Sunny grins while handing plates of food to Luna and Jamal. "Don't worry about that. If I'm there, I'll handle it. But that Eddy guy really wants to be the one to kill it, so no kill-stealing—got it, you two?"

They both nod before digging into their breakfast. As they're cleaning up, Sunny looks over at Jamal. "So, when's your little show?"

Jamal does a playful spin. "In about forty-five minutes! Tammy said that's when the most people show up at her shop."

Sunny shrugs. "Alright, go get ready and head out when you're set. Me and Luna will hold down the fort. We'll also pick up some silver—lucky for us, there's a pawn shop nearby."

Jamal nods approvingly. "Sounds good to me!" He heads to the bathroom to bathe and freshen up.

Luna leans toward Sunny. "We're going to his show, aren't we?"

Sunny smirks, nodding. "Yeah, we've gotta support our team member. But like I said, no teasing him. We don't want to embarrass him in front of the girl he's flirting with."

After a bit, Jamal leaves the RV, excited for his show. Luna and Sunny wait for a while, but something feels off. They don't see as many people heading toward the café as they expected. Curious, they peer out the window. While there's a decent crowd, it's clear there should be more.

"I feel like we could help," Sunny says. "Luna, come here!"

They rush back into the RV, and Luna hands Sunny some comms equipment.

"Don't worry, it's battery-powered," Sunny explains. "You keep it on. While he plays in there, I'll broadcast his music around town and let everyone know to head to the café!"

Luna nods enthusiastically and enters the café with the comms equipment. Tammy gives her a confused look but then smiles. "You know what—go ahead."

Jamal, completely immersed in his performance, doesn't notice Luna as she quietly sits down with the equipment. She waits for Sunny to start advertising his music. As Luna listens to Jamal play, it sounds just as amazing as the first time she heard it—though, without the added stress of avoiding a giant mimic house trying to eat her, it somehow sounds even better.

To Tammy's surprise, more people start showing up in droves. After a solid twenty minutes, the place is packed. Another twenty minutes later, Sunny shows up and sits next to Luna.

"Well, I think we did good," Sunny says with a satisfied smile. "And look at him—he's having the time of his life. Technically, his music brought this crowd in, but his teammates just gave him a little helping hand, that's all."

Luna nods, also enjoying the music.

After a good two hours, Jamal concludes his performance, walking away with nearly two grand in cash!

Luna, a bit shocked, exclaims, "Whoa, I didn't expect you to earn that much!"

Jamal, counting the money with a grin, responds, "Yeah, if I had a few days, I could've earned four times as much!"

Sunny places a hand on his shoulder. "You did great!"

Jamal dances over to Tammy to chat, clearly feeling on top of the world. Meanwhile, Luna and Sunny step out of the building, ready to find a pawn shop—or so they think.

Sunny's phone suddenly rings, and Eddy's panicked voice comes through. "S-Sunny, the Shopkeeper is in town!"

Sunny's eyes widen in alarm, and she quickly darts back into the café. "Sorry, Jamal, you can talk to Tammy later!" she says, grabbing him and pulling him along as they rush back to the RV.

Twice in one month encountering the Shopkeeper? Sunny's never had this happen before!

As they drive to Eddy's location, Jamal grumbles in the RV but can't help feeling a bit excited—he's never seen this Shopkeeper before.

When they arrive, they pull up to an abandoned-looking house. Stepping inside, they see the Shopkeeper standing there, but Eddy is unconscious on the ground.

Sunny steps forward, her tone cautious. "Hi there, Shopkeeper. Umm, why is our friend taking what seems to be a nap?"

The Shopkeeper smiles, his grin stretching ear to ear, teeth almost glowing white. "Oh, don't worry. Your friend here tried to steal from me."

The Shopkeeper extends his hand, casually grabbing Eddy's limp body. "But rest assured, I have a no-kill policy. After all, killing a potential customer means one less customer to buy from me."

Jamal, working up his courage, finally asks, "Would you happen to have some silver for us to buy?"

The Shopkeeper's smile widens as he tilts his head, addressing Jamal. "For the little monster you're hunting? I can sell you some silver weapons. Or..." He pauses dramatically, his face shrouded in shadow save for his unnerving grin. The man stands nearly ten feet tall, draped in a trench coat long enough to sweep the floor, and he wears a bowler hat perched atop his shadowy head. "I could sell you information, Jamal, about your little personal hunt."

Jamal swallows hard, his hands trembling slightly.

The Shopkeeper chuckles and turns his gaze toward Luna. "Or what about you, Luna? I know you have some questions you'd love answered. For instance..." His voice drips with amusement. "Wouldn't you like to know what that 'D.' in your name stands for?"

Luna stiffens but doesn't respond.

The Shopkeeper laughs again, his voice echoing eerily in the room. "Oh, don't worry. I know none of you really want these answers—not yet, at least. So let's focus on what you do need. I'll sell you four boxes of silver .44 magnum rounds for your revolver, Sunny, three silver augmentation rings, and a vial of vampire poison to aid in your fight. All for one thousand five hundred dollars. That leaves you five hundred dollars left over, Jamal. How does that sound?"

Jamal hesitates but eventually hands over the exact amount, his hands trembling.

The Shopkeeper snaps his fingers, and the items materialize in front of them. "H-how did you know what we needed? Or even what we're hunting?" Jamal stammers.

The Shopkeeper grins wider, his teeth gleaming. "Trade secrets, my boy."

As Jamal and Luna carry Eddy back to the RV, Sunny lingers behind. She narrows her eyes at the Shopkeeper. "Quick question—what the hell is my old teacher up to?"

The Shopkeeper pauses, his grin softening into something more cryptic. "I'll tell you this for free: nothing good. He's gotten himself into trouble, and I'll leave it at that. Anything more will cost you."

Sunny nods, satisfied. "That's all I needed to know. See ya."

As she turns to leave, the Shopkeeper appears suddenly by her side, slipping something into her hand. "Take that. It's my business card. I have a feeling I'll be selling to you often, Ms. Jean."

With that, Sunny heads back to the RV, ready to regroup with her team and face the monster ahead.