Reginald Baxter the Vigilante Vampire by J.E. Shook Read Free Book Online Page B

and grabbing hold of the hand. "I dreamed I was in the woods and these strangers attacked and killed me."
    "That is a harsh dream," she said. Reginald felt his face being dabbed by a cold, wet cloth. "That dream is over and you're safe now in the city."
    "Thanks, Mother," he said, smiling as he began to lay back down on the soft mattress. Before his head made contact with the pillow, his eyes darted back open. "Wait, what?"
    A light came on and he saw the woman from his dream sitting on the mattress beside him. Without thinking, he tried to get up, but got tangled up in the sheets that were covering him. He saw everything go black again as his head crashed into the concrete.

Chapter 5
    Reginald opened his eyes again and looked around. Though the room was dimly lit, he could recognize the contents of the storage shed that he had rented. He had never liked throwing away anything that might be useful later, forcing him to rent out one of the larger storage units available in the city. His apartment could easily fit inside with room left over. Sometimes the room felt more like home than his apartment did. He had spent days there reading his old books, and reliving the memories that the various items held for him. Many were happier memories, but others were bitter and brought up emotions he rarely exposed anywhere else.
    He stood and walked over to an antique desk nearby. He reached down and opened the top drawer, revealing its single item. He carefully took out an old lantern and placed it on the desk. 'I can still smell her,' he thought, smiling sadly.
    "Do you still miss her?" a feminine voice asked.
    Reginald glanced over towards the other side of the room to where his mother was sitting on an old-fashioned sofa. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed his mouth after a moment. He nodded instead and put the lantern back in the drawer.
    "She represents another future you could have lead," Madeline said. "You have the right to think of such things."
    Reginald nodded again. "I suppose you're right," he said, turning and sitting sideways in his chair. "I did not expect to see you again so soon. Is something wrong, Mother?"
    "I should ask you the same," she said. Seeing his confused face, she continued. "You don't know what I am talking about, do you?"
    Reginald shook his head.
    Sighing, she picked up a newspaper beside her and tossed it to him. "Check out the second page."
    Feeling feeling, Reginald unfolded the paper and glanced over the second page. "Hmm," was all he could utter as he read one particular article. "Hmm," he said several more times as he read and reread it again. "Well, I wasn't expecting that."
    "What exactly did you expect?" she asked, leaning back and stroking her chin.
    He sat there a moment. "Nothing really. I didn't think anything would happen. It was instincts for the most part."
    "To beat up two robbers?" she asked, sounding ill. "What you did was dangerous. Not just to you, but to all of us. You should know that."
    "I just did what felt like needed doing," he said, shaking his head. "Besides, it was after dawn. I didn't think it was a good idea to let people see someone sunburn right before their eyes."
    "You did look pretty rough last night when I got here."
    "Last night?" Reginald asked, looking confused. He glanced at the date and whistled. "Wow, I slept almost two days. I must have been really worse than I thought."
    "I've always insisted that you be careful," she said, tossing a bottle at him. "You're not as bad as some, but you do take some damage in sunlight."
    "Yes, yes, I know," Reginald said, looking at the bottle of sunscreen. "I have managed before in the past without it. I don't like to use it unless it is an emergency."
    Madeline sighed. "Reginald, what am I going to have to do to you? Being sensitive to the sun is just a fact of life to most of us. It isn't a weakness to use it."
    Reginald shrugged and placed the bottle in his pocket. Glancing back down to the paper, he said, "This