This is a series of short stories, detailing the adventures of Chelsea Childling. You can start with her origin story or pick something from the index.
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The barest slit of a moon opened the sky above her as Chelsea pulled off the highway. The last week of practice had imprinted the route firmly in her mind. Which was a good thing as she was having some trouble concentrating as she pulled over by Jim’s truck.

The vampire, Spring-Heeled Jack, had been spotted here the night before, while she had slept, warm and fed. 

Not just seen.

No, Jack had chased a car right off the road. The child in the backseat would live, but she was an orphan now. Chelsea fought the red mist on her brain. Rage would not help.

“You okay?” Kristin’s normally laugh-filled voice was tied in tight knots tonight.

“Nope.” Chelsea forced the white knuckles on her steering wheel to unclench. “If we had been out last ni–”

“We would have been unprepared, because it would have been practice.” Kristin pulled in a deep breath. “Look, I’m pissed too, but we have a plan and we need to stick to it. Getting caught by surprise just means us dead.”

She disagreed, but Chelsea nodded anyway. Fighting with Kristin didn’t kill a monster.

Her partner eyed her for a long moment. “I’m gonna head to the ambush with Jim. Keep us informed.”

Chelsea grabbed her phone as Kristin shut her door. Jim picked up immediately. “I’m putting you on speaker. Don’t hang up on me.” She set the phone in the cup holder. “See you two on the other side.” She headed back to the road. 

Per the plan, she went slow, just below legal speed. The planned route was a large loop out past the few heavily irrigated farms and pastures. Chelsea couldn’t make out the unnatural green in the dark, but she’d driven this route so often the last week, she knew every leaf in those fields.

On her second loop through the country, a shadow darted across the road in her rearview mirror. “I think I saw him. I’m about three-fourths of the way through the route. See you in less than fifteen.”

“Gotcha.” Jim’s calm voice eased through her phone. “Keep us informed.”

She speed up for a few moments and then slowed down again. The shadow darted across the road once more before losing itself in the night. “Okay, Jack, let’s play.” 

Slowing down on the turns and speeding up, just a little, on the straightaways, seemed to lure him out. At least she caught enough glimpses of the “shadow” to be certain it was human-shaped. “Okay, folks, if it’s not Jack, it’s something other monster, and definitely chasing me now.” She glanced at the mile marker. “I’m too close for the ambush. Let me take him around again.”

The siblings rang out in unison. “Good luck.” 

Chelsea sped up, just a touch. She didn’t to lose the vampire. This was a chase. She passed town without seeing him and slowed once more as the dark of the desert enveloped her. 

As she passed what she knew to be the first farm, something ran into her car. The thump shook her, and she swerved into the other lane. “Motherfucker. That left a dent.”

“Chelsea?” Jim’s voice sounded small and very far away over her phone.

Her temper, already primed from news of the night before, broke free from the dam. This car had been a gift from her father. He had rebuilt with his friends, just for her. And while he had intended it as a car his teenage daughter could beat up, she hadn’t. She loved this car, more so since he died and she lived out of it.

Her vision swam through tears as she slammed on the breaks. She jerked the wheel all the way to the left and hit the gas. Squealing tires spun her around a few times, before another thump slowed her.

Chelsea barely caught the body flying into the desert, but it was humanesque. She hit the brakes, straightened the wheel, and smelled the brake pads screaming in protest with only a little regret. Looking around, she found she was facing the opposite direction that she wanted. But there wasn’t time.

She tore off into the night, one eye on the rearview mirror. “I’m coming fast, from the wrong side.”

“Right.” Jim’s tight voice still sounded unreal to her. “We’ll be ready.”

“Cool.” A human shape was now following her, in the middle of the road, and gaining ground. “Let’s hope I make it there.”

“Chelsea,” Jim’s voice tried for calm, but failed. “What’s going on?”

In the black velvet of the desert at night, a tongue of flame flared on the road. 

“I think I pissed him off.”

“That was the plan.”

“Yeah… plan worked too well.” She slammed on the breaks. But instead of the impact she expected, a weight hit the roof of her car. “Fuck.” She hit the gas again. As she sped into the dark, Jack punched at the roof of her car. She hit the breaks once more, and this time it worked as expected. 

A body flew off the top of her car and rolled in the road a few times. Cheslea’s gas pedal hit the floor of her car. She screamed as the vampire staggered to its feet.

She barely had time to register the metal tipped claws, pointy ears, and pale skin when her car slammed into the vampire. The monster flew down the road a few feet, before rolling to a stop.

“Chelsea? Chelsea!”

She ignored Jim and Kristin’s calls as she exited her car. She pulled her ax, eyes on the dark shape barely outlined by her headlights.

The vampire struggled to rise. Chelsea didn’t let it. She kicked the vampire in the face, knocking it back and swung before it could move again. She couldn’t quite decapitate it, and needed a few more swings to finish the job.

Black gore dripping from her shirt, she finally headed back to her car and Jim’s frantic calls from over the cell phone. “Jack’s down. Gonna need some help with clean up.”

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