Ethics of the Undead

By LorenSchechter

43.2K 1.9K 167

Four normal teens are conned into scholarships to a charter school for vampires. Can they escape before being... More

Chapter 1 - No Less Human
Chapter 2 - Kathy
Chapter 3 - Hector
Chapter 4 -- Lionel
Chapter 5 -- The Limo
Chapter 6 -- Jung Soo
Chapter 7 -- The School
Chapter 8 -- Guidance
Chapter 9 -- Nasturtiums
Chapter 10 -- Electives
Chapter 11 -- Theology
Chapter 12-- So Sorry, Soo
Chapter 13 - The Music Teacher
Chapter 14 -- The Meeting
Chapter 15 -- At Edna's Table
PART III - SIX MONTHS LATER
Chapter 17 - The Faculty
Chapter 18 - Same Bus, Worlds Apart
Chapter 19 - The Announcement
Chapter 20 - A Vampire is Something Else
Chapter 21 - The Man With The Cane
Chapter 22 - The Locker
Chapter 23 -- Edna LittleHawk
Chapter 24 - A Tough Situation
Chapter 25 - Conrad
Chapter 26 -- Level 8
Chapter 27 -- Council Meeting
Chapter 28 -- The Proposal
Chapter 29 - Of Smile and Sacrifice
Chapter 30 -- Opening Statements
Chapter 31 - First Witness
Chapter 32 -- Hope
Chapter 34 -- Testimony to Love
Chapter 35 -- Arvin
Chapter 36 -- Dorlik
Chapter 37 -- That's Just Who I Am
Chapter 38 -- The Defanging
Chapter 39 -- Cocktails at Adriana's
Chapter 40 -- Inspection Day
Chapter 41-- Silent No More
Chapter 42 -- Not A Bad Guy
Chapter 43 -- Sorting It Out
Chapter 44 - Flowers
Chapter 45 -- Holiday Plans
Chapter 46 -- Halloween
Chapter 47 -- Duct Work
Chapter 48 -- The Last Sleep
PART SEVEN -- THE ESCAPE
Chapter 50 -- Out of My Hands
Chapter 51 -- On the Run
Chapter 52 -- My Mother is Waiting
Chapter 53 -- The Pit
Chapter 54 -- On The Mountain
Chapter 55 - The Plan
Chapter 56-- Back Again
Chapter 57 -- Remember This

Chapter 33 -- Swearing In

232 26 1
By LorenSchechter


Chapter 33 – SWEARING IN

"You didn't have to pull down my pants," Hope told Hector as they emerged from the passageway.

"Shh! Voices carry in this cave." He grabbed her arm and tugged her behind the nearest porta potty.

She slapped his hand away. "I don't care," she whispered. "You treated me like a – a slut – and that vampire looked at me like I was a piece of meat. He called me scrawny."

"So? He called me 'a vampire's wet dream.' Let's not whine until we get out of here, okay?"

"You think I'm whining?"

He waved the question away. "Look, pulling your pants down wasn't personal. I'm sorry, but I had to make him believe we were the real deal."

"Something like that is very personal." Guys are so dense, she thought. "Whatever -- how do we get out of here?"

"The tunnel is all the way back on the left hand side of the chamber we were just in. Go sit in the chair I had next to Soo, the Korean girl. She has to tell Kathy and Lionel to ask to go to the porta potties on the next break, because we have a plan to escape. When the shit hits the fan, they have to follow you to the tunnel. I'll have some coats and boots there."

"What about my team and my coaches?"

Hector shook his head. "Too many people. Like you said, they'd slow you down. Even if they escaped the vampires, they'd get killed by the wolves or the cold."

"But the bus – "

"Probably destroyed in Montana by now. It's too big a target in a helicopter search. Now peek out there to see if you can get to Soo without attracting too much attention."

Hope peered around the corner of the porta potty. The witness chair was empty and an animated conversation was going on in front of the judge's desk. Judge Harrow was half hidden by a pile of old books, while the prosecutor, defense counsel and a grandmotherly vampire argued vehemently, pointing to one book or the other to support their positions. The jurors were fidgeting in their chairs, rubbing their eyes and yawning. Donny Jilmer was asleep in his chair. Tootsie Roll was standing right behind Donny, one finger poised to poke him as soon as the hushed argument up front got settled. A few of the vampires in the audience were chatting, but most had ear buds in or seemed to be playing games on their smart phones.

Maybe cell phones do work up here, thought Hope. No vampires seemed to be talking into their phones, but if most of them were here, who would call them?

"Don't wait all day," whispered Hector.

"I'm going." She sauntered out as if she'd just relieved herself of a burden and headed toward the slim Korean girl who was casting anxious glances this way and that, obviously worried about her friend's absence. Then Hope caught sight of Miss Fletcher and Snarly. The teen vampire had moved into the seat that Hope had vacated and was chatting up the Assistant Coach, who still looked dazed and very uncomfortable.

"Oh, no you don't," Hope muttered as she made a beeline toward them. "Excuse me, excuse me," she said as she stepped over feet that clogged her row. She tried to ignore the annoyed faces that would have frightened her to death on Halloween, but then she came up against Snarly. "That's my seat," she told him.

"No assigned seats except for the jury and the two in chains," said Snarly. He glanced at the porta potty area. "You took a long time in there. Less blood might make for less piss."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Hope. "I just want to sit next to my coach."

"Didn't your parents teach you to share?" He put his hand on Miss Fletcher's blonde hair.

The coach shrank down and away. "Please, don't," she said.

"Stop or I'll scream rape," Hope told Snarly. "Didn't your parents teach you right from wrong?"

"It doesn't hold up in the vampire world," said Snarly. "Neither does rape. That's the worst part of God's curse on us – no pleasure from sex." He lifted Miss Fletcher's hair away from her neck. "I've had to turn to drink."

Hope yanked his arm down. "I don't care what your excuse is. Forcible entry is wrong. Come on, Coach, we're getting out of here." She grabbed Miss Fletcher's hand and dragged her out of her seat and back down the row of vexed vampires to the aisle. She stood up on her toes to get to Miss Fletcher's ear. "The more I have to deal with these vampires, the more I don't like them," she whispered angrily. "We're getting out of here. Let's go find Sue."

"Who's Sue?" asked Miss Fletcher. "Is she on the team?"

"The Korean girl. There she is." Hope led her coach by the hand to the other side of the audience.

The gavel sounded. "Court's back in session," proclaimed Judge Harrow. "Sorry for the delay. The prosecution's next witness, Ms. Portia Underlude, our esteemed teacher of theology, raised an objection to being sworn in on Dante's Divine Comedy. The Court agrees that there's no accounting for religious taste, so the authorized version of the King James Bible – "

"No!" shouted Tootsie Roll. Guffaws and angry muttering filled the cave.

Judge Harrow pounded the gavel until most of the vampires were silent. "Ms. Underlude rejected that offer, as well as offers of either the Latter Day Saints edition or the Joseph Smith translation of that text. On my desk, you see not only those holy books, but the revised edition of the New American Bible, the Tanakh of the University of Jerusalem, and many volumes from her personal library, including copies of the Qur'an, the Donghak Scripture, the Book of the Dead, the Hindu Vedas, the Bahá'í Book of Certitude, and several more." The judge shook his head. "Ms. Underlude refused each of them. The attorneys and I tried to assuage her fear that swearing on any one of these holy texts would be an insult to the others. I am happy to report that she has agreed to a practical solution. Bailiff – " He summoned Tootsie with a gesture. "Please stack these holy books in a single pile on the floor and swear in Ms. Underlude with her right hand on top of the pile."

"Pile 'em in what order?" the Bailiff said sullenly.

"Don't make more problems," said the judge. "Just close your eyes and do it." 


End of Chapter 33

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