Mosquito Club

"What's this?" Viktor asks with a sigh as a packet of papers is placed in front of his smart phone as he sits at his dining room table.

"An attempt for you to get out and make... friends." His roommate James replies.

"I don't need friends." Viktor retorts, saying "friends" with disgust.

"Well you need a hobby at least Viktor." James says sternly.

Viktor scoffs and moves the papers so he can look back at his smart phone screen.

"Don't give me that. You've kept yourself in this house for years and recently you've gotten all mopey." Viktor gives James a sideways look. "Well more than usual." James adds with an eye roll.

"I'm sick of being your only friend, and having to share my food." James continues, "It's time you get your own."

“So what is this?” Viktor asks, defeated, with a sigh, giving in to what James wants and picking up the packet.

“A list of local social clubs. Any one should have a buffet you’d be interested in.” James explains watching Viktor's reaction as he flips through the pages, scanning them.

“Book club, women’s club, basketball club,” Viktor begins mumbling some names listed on the sheets. “DND club, what does that stand for? Film club, art club, these all sound so boring. Improv club, math club, wait. Mosquito club?”

“Wait what?” James asks. He zoned out for a second but that snapped him out of it.

“Well I love those little blood suckers!” Viktor exclaims. 

“I mean, it may be full of virgins.” James warns with a joking smile.

“I’ll go to that, try it out.” Viktor smiles now in excitement. 

James picks up the paper. 

“They meet tonight, perfect.” He informs Viktor with a grin, still amused at his friend’s excitement of such a lame sounding club.

“I better get ready!” Viktor exclaims, jumping out of his chair and running to his room, his long dark hair flowing behind him. James laughs to himself as he walks away from the the table and back over to the couch where his emails were waiting for him. 

---

Viktor leans over to the Uber driver.

“I’m very excited. Can you guess why?” Viktor asks the man with a huge grin on his face. The man, the Uber driver, looks like he would rather ride in silence, but decides to not ignore his customer.

“Why?” He asks in a flat voice with hints of sarcasm.

“Because I have decided to take up a new hobby! I’m going to learn about mosquitos.” Viktor asks, sounding proud of himself, still with his child-like excitement.

“Great.” The Uber driver replies not looking anywhere but the road, wishing this weird guy dressed in a blouse, a velvet tailcoat, and most disgustingly a smile, would get out of his car. 

They sit in silence for a moment, and Viktor looks around the car and holds his knees.

“So. Are we almost there?” Viktor asks, breaking the silence.

“Nine. More. Minutes.” The agonized driver responds, clutching the steering wheel harder and cursing the stop-and-go city traffic more than normal.

“Great! I have time to tell a story!” Viktor exclaims. 

The driver clunks his head down against the steering wheel.

“So there I was, going up against my arch nemesis..”

---

“Thank you Mr. Uber!” Viktor yells as the Uber driver drives away, dropping him off at a library that was listed on the website.

Viktor walks in, headed for room 777. 

“Knock knock.” Viktor verbalizes as he also knocks on the door at the same time.

He hears a couple different locks being unlocked then the door opens a few inches, as much as the door chain would let it.

Half the face of a medium height girl with purple hair appears in the crack.

“May I come in?” Viktor asks, trying to peek in the room behind the girl.

“Why?” She questions sternly.

“Well, I’m here for Mosquito Club.” Viktor informs her with a half smile.

“Oh!” She takes a step back and removes the door chain, opening the door and stepping back so Viktor could come inside.

“Right this way then!” The purple haired girl beams.

“Thank you.” Viktor smiles walking in and seeing chairs in rows with people occupying very few of them facing a smart board with a presentation of a giant picture of a mosquito pulled up on it and a folding table in front of it. The folding table had mason jars on top of it, perhaps for the mosquitos. 

Viktor sat down next to a man in a black t-shirt with large muscles. 

“Hello sir. I’m Viktor Zamolodchikova.” Viktor sticks his hand out to the man.

“Steven.” The man replies, shaking Viktor’s hand but does not smile or hint anything about himself or that he wants to be at the club.

“What got you into mosquitos?” Viktor asked Steven.

“They killed my wife.” Steven replies, looking straight ahead.

“Ah,” Viktor thinks that over for a second. “Malaria.” He nods.

The purple-haired girl who let him in walks to the front of the room, in front of the smart board and the table with the jars.

“Dim the lights John.” She nods at the man with glasses and a clipboard who was standing in the corner.

The lights flip off completely. 

“Sorry. They don’t dim.” He whisper-screams across the room.

“Fine!” The purple-haired girl whisper-screams back. She clears her throat, “Thank you all so much for coming. We have a great turn-out tonight!”

Viktor turns around in his seat to see if there were more people who walked in that he didn’t see. There weren’t. 

“I’m Jody. Your leader and founder,” She’s cut off by a cough from the guy with glasses by the light switch. “Leader and CO-founder.” She says gritting her teeth.

“So let’s all say our names and why we are here tonight. Again, I’m Jody and I’m here because I HATE mosquitos.” After the anger leaves her eyes she motions with a big smile to the person sitting in a chair nearest to her.

“I’m Dory and my mom was bitten by a mosquito when I was a child. After, she acted strange, then left our family.” The older woman says, sounding like she’s about to cry. 

“Alright, next, Jody looks to the person sitting two seats away from Dory.

“I’m Angus and I want to help. I’ve read the stories and myths, everything, and think I can help.” Angus nods viciously, agreeing with what they themself said.

“You. Weird guy.” Jody says looking right at Viktor now.

“Me?” Viktor asks.

“Yes.” Jody responds coldly.

“Well, I want to learn more about mosquitos.” Viktor asks, unsure now. 

“Alright. And Steve, we already know all about your wife, don't worry.”

“You all have very sad stories.” Viktor says. “I like mosquitoes. Sure they spread disease but-”

“Oh you don’t get it.” Jody cuts him off with. “We’re not talking about mosquitos. We’re talking about vampires.” Jody’s eyes fill with an angry flame. 

“Ohhh.” Viktor responds, realizing what this club really is. “Well I’m gonna go, cause I don’t really know anything about that. Thanks for having me.” Then he got up and ran out of the library and pulled out his smartphone to call James.

“You gotta pick me up!”  Viktor yells into the phone when James answers.

“I’m a little busy right now.” James responds.

“They’re vampire hunters!” Viktor yells into the phone. “And we’re VAMPIRES!”

“Ohhh.” James replies. “I’ll be right there.” 

---

“So-” James starts.

“I’m never getting a new hobby again.” Viktor tells him, staring straight ahead with his arms crossed. “And it’s your fault.”

James sighs, “We have to kill them all now don’t we?” 

“Yup.”

“Okay.”

---

End xD