YEAR OF THE VAMPIRE 25

Chapter 25

Music from: What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor?

The music changed to a full swinging shanty with a quicker tempo, bringing on shouts from both blue and orange pirates, and a mock fight as the strobe light turned spotty and cast small dots of starlight on the ceiling, turning in time, as the main room lights dimmed. The music shifted to a rowdy rendition of What Shall We Do With a Drunken Sailor? Someone put the song on loop and the scores of partygoers formed a circle, a few nearly tossing Lucille Ball and a blue pirate into the center, who did a lopsided impromptu Russian dance more at home in Fiddler on the Roof.

Music filled the grand room, crêpe paper swinging as the song repeated for the fourth time.

"Goscie Jada!" Fritz yelled, minus his dignity now.

There was a pirate whoop and the circle of laughing teens joined hands and raised them, pushing the circle smaller as the walked it to the center, and then out again before beginning rotation. It was an old Polish circle dance, expanding and collapsing with the shanty, and Ivy almost wished she'd opted for a smaller costume. The circle moved faster, clockwise, the room a blur of black, red, and green decorations, the pinpoints of light dancing across the ceiling adding to the dizzying affect with the tall windows providing real moonlight.

Ivy laughed, nearly losing her breath, mind whirring.

"Again!" shouted a girl dressed as Kill Bill's Beatrix.

Fritz seconded the request, and the music repeated the boisterous shanty. "Reverse!"

The circle of partiers trampled counter-clockwise, hands joined as they shrunk the circle and retreated out again, spouting lyrics that only vaguely resembled the real ones.

A sudden brightening of the windows flashed, and the circle slowed.

Out the nearest window, Ivy saw lightning rip through the dark heaven, but no rain.

The circle of teens got back up to speed, feet thumping to the shanty.

A rip of thunder crashed, shaking the whole room.

This time the teens slowed to a halt. The lights went out, leaving only the disorienting strobing star-dots swirling on the ceiling and the music still jauntily playing.

"Blew a fuse!" a boy called as the circle dissolved.

Ivy dropped the hands she held, turning to see a milling of shadows head to the back of the room.

A jag of lightning lit up Cleopatra across the room. "I'll get the flashlight. I'll be back in a minute."

Camille's mom disappeared into the dark.

"I'll help," a boy's labored voice said. "My dad has me do it all the time."

Camille's mom didn't reply, but another figure, one shaped like a thin Darth Vader, followed her.

Ivy turned, unable to identify anyone in the whirl of white dots of light.

A low murmuring went through the crowd, and then a girl asked, "Should we shut the music off?"

A girl's scream filled the air.

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