The Vampire Brinstat

By Brind'Amour

Chapter 4
Oddly enough, the next evening, after the brouhaha at the casino over his house of cards trick, Brinstat awoke feeling quite rejuvenated. He had decided, when he went to bed the previous morning, that he was going to give up the job hunt and just be who he is.

He made himself some breakfast, watched a little television, gave his mother a quick hug, and headed outdoors. All night he walked around the town. He went from place to place and ended up back home shortly before sunrise.

After a few days of the same routine, Brinstat quickly became bored. He found himself going out less and less. Several days later, while dinner was being prepared, he picked up the newspaper to read Broom Hilda and spotted an ad announcing a huge Halloween Costume Party given by the mayor in hopes of raising money for better security at the museum.

What caught Brinstat’s eye was the headline, “Bored? Have nothing to do? Want to have a good time? Want to meet new people? Come to the Mayor’s Halloween Costume Party Friday night at 9 pm sharp! Big cash prize for the best costume!!”

“Geez! That’s tomorrow night!” said Brinstat. I have to come up with something good so Mama doesn’t give me another one of her lectures again, thought Brinstat. “Hey, Mama! I’m going to go to this Halloween party to see if I can scare the pants off some people there!”

“Ah! That’s my boy! Your Mama is just so proud of you, Brinstat!” she said, squeezing his cheek.

The next day, Brinstat combed his hair, brushed his teeth, put on his best cape, and headed to the party. When he got there, he was astounded at the turnout. There had to be hundreds of people. He saw cowboys, clowns, magicians, doctors, belly dancers, mummies, Frankensteins, princesses, and so many others. Of course, even though Brinstat wasn’t really dressed in a costume, he fit right in.
Brinstat mingled and chatted with a few partygoers. Suddenly, someone dressed as a prisoner, announced that the costume contest was about to begin. “And there’s a big cash prize for the winner, too!”

While the parade of masked partygoers circled around the room showing off their costumes, Brinstat spotted a sly little cowboy slink over to the prize table, look around, and quickly swipe the metal box containing the prize money. Holy cow pies! I can’t believe he just did that, thought Brinstat.

As the thief quickly fled the scene and escaped out the front door Brinstat did the only thing that came naturally to him… he quickly turned himself into a bat and flew out the door after the culprit. Less than a block away, Brinstat soared right into the back of the cowboy, knocking him flat on his belly. Brinstat swooped up the cash box and quickly flew back to the party. He dropped the box back onto the table, and with a POOF was back to being The Vampire Brinstat once again.

“Dude! That was some awesome trick! I’m mean, Dude, you rock!” said a rock band guitar hero, sportin’ a blue Mohawk.

“Why are you dressed as a vampire if you’re going to do magic tricks?” asked Little Red Riding Hood.

Brinstat just stood there not able to say a word, embarrassed at what just happened. He rolled his eyes as another vampire approached. “That was really something,” she said.

“I’d rather just forget the whole thing,” Brinstat replied. “Can I get you any hors d’oeuvres?” he asked in order to change the subject.

“Sure!” she said. “My name is Rosalie.”

“Mine’s Brinstat.” With that, he went to get plates of hors d’oeuvres for both of them. They spent the rest of the evening talking, dancing, and having fun. “Whoa, I’m really thirsty, would you like anything?” he asked her.

“Yes, thank you. A soda and some snacks would be very nice.”

“I’ll be right back,” he said. Brinstat returned balancing two drinks and two plates full of different kinds of snacks. He carefully placed the drinks on a table and when he went to hand her a plate, a meatball rolled off and made a straight line directly into Rosalie’s chest.

“AH!” she screamed. And, suddenly, smoke started to rise from her chest and she ran outside.

Shocked, Brinstat ran after her. “Rosalie, what happened?”

“I’m burning up here. Can’t you see?” she cried.

“But how? What? How?” he questioned.

“I don’t know, Brinstat. It must have been one of those garlic-infused meatballs or something. I’ll be all right. I just need some air.”

“Are you saying what I think you are saying?”

“Yes, I guess so. I’m a vampire, okay? I’m not some human vampire wanna be! I’m a real vampire and I came here to meet some new friends because this town is as boring as “boring” can be.”

“I know! I feel the exact same way! I can’t believe this!” he replied.

“Brinstat, do you think we can just leave this party and go and talk somewhere?”

“Oh yes, Rosalie. We can go anywhere you want!”

Just then, they both POOFED into bats and flew off together.

Epilogue

Brinstat finally found a friend. A friend for life. Someone just like him. And he found her when he was being nothing more than just himself.

RING! RING! I’ll get it Mama!!! “Hello?”

“Is Brinstat there?”

“This is he.”

“Hi. This is Mr. Giles from the museum. I heard about what you did at the Mayor’s Halloween party and I figured with all the money they raised, and by you catching the thief, I thought we can offer some training, and well, we’d like to hire you back.”

“Really? That’s super awesome, Mr. Giles. Thank you so much! See you Monday night!”

“OH NO! WHAT AM I GOING TO TELL MAMA?!!!!!!!”

The End.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!