Dana The Damned

Dana the Damned was a goth girl into all things punk, and loud. She
kept her local chemists in business with the amount of cosmetic
products she bought there. He favourite day was Saturday when she went
to the Cryptkickers Ball, that was held in a disused bingo hall,
heavily renovated. There were many rooms in the Crypt (as they called
it). She wore her favourite boots and her second leather skirt and the
fishnets that everyone wore, and of course her biker jacket that she
wore everywhere.

She listened to the first Damned album as it made a change from the
Cramps. She loved the Damned and had a library of books on vampires,
werewolves and demon spirits from the other side. Her favourite time
was night.

There she stood outside the Crypt waiting for her friends to show up,
there was Bing, Psycle, Nausea and her best mate of all Batgirl. After
a while she got bored and read the posters that had been pasted up on
the wall outside the club. It was getting cold and she wished she had
worn a thicker top, instead of her spray painted t shirt she had kept
from Art School.

She realised she was totally alone, and it was very dark, and the
lights weren't all on. A car drew up outside the club it was a black
Bentley which looked like a vintage car. A man with a widows peak
climbed out of the car and went over to where she stood.

"You're friends are not here?" he said in a curious accent, he sounded
French but might be Swiss. His teeth seemed quite pointed too. Dana the
Damned looked at him, and he looked back at her.

"My dear, I suggest you may wish to wait in the car, it is raining."
And suddenly it was, torrential rain streaming down. He took her arm
and gently began propelling her to the car. She tried to resist, as she
had no wish to dance with such a creature. She had sussed that he was a
vampire already. He was immensely strong, and yet strangely powerfully
attractive to her.

She was about to get in the car when a motorcycle roared up and
screeched to a halt some distance from the car. The rider was dressed
in black and silver, and raised his visor as he climbed off the
bike.

"Hold, Trestan!" The rider called. The vampire hurled Dana the Damned
away from him, and strode forward, his face changing as he marched
towards the rider.

"Hellden! So you followed me from Neverwhere? Come show me what have
you have learned since last we met..." He jumped his cape swirling out
behind him and landed immediately behind Hellden who in turn whirled
round to face his assailant.

"Trestan, you are not meant to be here. You may have escaped from
Neverwhere, but I can still make you go back."

"How?" Trestan asked, calming suddenly. Hellden amused him, he liked to
chat before they fought.

"By dint of magick, I have been learning," Hellden said slowly,
watching Trestan closely as he did so.

"Magick? You have seen the witch then?"

"Not exactly," Hellden continued.

"Well where then?"

"Ah, but that would be telling, now wouldn't it?"

"Look, Hellden, we cannot stand here and argue like this, it is still
raining."

"Is it?" Hellden asked. The rain had stopped. They were standing on a
darkling plain with nothing around for miles, except desert sand, which
had been melted as if by some monstrous explosion.

"Where are we?"

"Trinity test site, they are dropping a bomb about now. See there goes
the jet." He pointed to the sky.

Trestan looked into the sky and then back at Hellden, but he had gone.
A minute later, Trestan was very annoyed to blown apart in an atomic
blast.

"Are you all right?" Hellden asked the girl. Dana the Damned was still
sitting on the pavement and had gashed her knee when she fell.

"No, look at that," she said pointing to the hole in her fishnets,
"these were new today!"

Hellden produced a handkerchief also in black and silver and used that
to clean up the cut.

"Who are you?" Dana the Damned asked. "What are you?"

Hellden removed his helmet, and smiled. "A friend," he said, "now can
you stand?"

"I think so," said Dana the Damned. "Where's the vampire gone?"

"Oh him? I nuked him," Hellden said slowly. "Call me if you need my
help again." And with that he led to the club door and saluted her
formally.

"But who are you?" Dana the Damned asked, again.

"Reinhardt Hellden of Neverwhere. a place just around the corner of
your eye."

"Can I get you a drink?"

Reinhardt studied her face. He smiled again. "Yes indeed. It is still
raining and I would like to see what this place is about."

"Now don't freak, but they are a lot of weird people inside. I will
introduce you to them." Dana said, opening the club doors.

"Weird people?" Reinhardt asked, curious. His blue eyes fixed Dana with
a serious gaze.

"Oh they are like me, we just dance about and have fun."

"I see," Reinhardt replied. "I think I shall enjoy this."

They went inside and because Reinhardt only had gold coins on him, Dana
the Damned paid for him as well.