*Heart - beeeeeeat ... heart - beat ...*

Regan's near-perfect mezzo-soprano voice stopped singing for a moment while she lit one of the brown colt's she had found in the glovebox of the DeSoto. The big black car barreled down the dusty highway at breakneck speeds ... 666 ... her lucky number. Regan would have been worried if it had been Spike at the wheel ... petrified even ... but Lucius had spent a season or two racing bikes on the Dunlop back in the early eighties ... he was more than safe behind the wheel ... even at 160 kilometers an hour.

*Don't bother to pack your bags ... or your map ... we won't need them where we're going*

It was good to be out of the plant ... to feel the heat permeating the blacked out windshield and have the music blasting in their ears. After not seeing or hearing anything come out of Spike and Dru's room but that damned Weezer song for nearly a week, Regan had finally given up at ever enjoying that particular song again and Lucius had called Polly in Malibu to see if they were welcome. They had borrowed ... well, technically stolen ... the DeSoto out of the storage garage and headed southwest. Anything to get away from that damn song ... and the knowledge of what was happening behind it's cheery wall of sound.

Regan propped her grubby bare feet up on the dash and sung along to her new favourite song with gusto, the lit colt hanging out of her mouth a la James Dean. Waving her hands around the front seat with abandon to the music ... sometimes doing a little routine ... most times just flailing for the fun of it as she sang.

*We ... will write ... a post ... card to our ... friends ... and fa ... mily ... in free verse*

‘Sing with me Lucius!'
The black haired vamp smirked and shook his head, ‘I can't sing.'
‘Bullocks you can't!' Regan giggled, grabbing Lucius' chin and moving it up and down to the words, ‘Sing!'
Lucius smacked Regan's hand away playfully and started singing along with his not-so-little ward in shaky harmony ...

*Heaaart ...beeeeeat ... heaaaart ...beeeeeat ... Let's go away for a while ... you and I ... to a strange and distant land ...*

Regan stomped her feet on the dash to the beat ... giggling her way through the last verse as Lucius sang along with her. She was in total holiday mode ... white singlet, white ‘cape cod' shorts, a daisy crown propped on her head at a precarious angle. Lucius had to admit he was feeling pretty damn good himself as he pushed the pedal to the metal and watched the speedometer climb to 170 KM. Singing along, he unbuttoned the gaudy Hawaiian shirt Regan had (literally) wrestled him into earlier in the day and let the cold air from the AC hit his chest. Regan turned to look at her friend and couldn't help but laugh. His flimsy shirt flapping in the breeze from the AC ... buff bare white chest ... long black hair (albeit laces with spare daisies from her crown) framing his angular jaw and distinctively arched nose ... singing to the music with that thick baritone accent ... it was almost cute.

‘Oh Lucius ... you so sexy.' Regan smirked.
‘Tais toi chere.'
Regan gave him a mock-pout and took a puff of her colt, ‘Oh shut up yourself.'

Just then the tape stopped and popped out of the tape player and for the first time they heard the siren. Lucius checked the rear view and frowned.
‘Police.'
‘Oh shit ...' pouted the thin blonde as she sat up in her seat and squinted out the blacked-out black window, ‘I think he wants us to stop Lucius.'
Lucius laughed, ‘I think he's wanted us to stop for a while chere.'
Regan gave Lucius a little frown ... the sun was high overhead ... not the perfect time to get pulled over with a vampire in the drivers seat.

‘Okay, trade places,' she said climbing into Lucius lap, freeing up the passenger seat, ‘Cover up with the fire blanket.'

Lucius crawled out from under his companion and covered himself with the suffocatingly heavy blanket. *Merde ... it's a good thing I don't have to breathe* Regan flipped the tape and popped it back into the player as she got comfy behind the wheel of the DeSoto, singing along to her tape as it started up again.

*On a Ho - li - day ... far away ... let's go today ... in a heart - beeeeeeeeeat ... *

Regan continued to cruise at over a hundred and fifty kilometers for another minute or two, slipping her red lensed wraparound Ray-Bans on and sucking on her colt, before Lucius peeked out from under the blanket ...

‘Um, chere when are you planning to stop?'
Regan took a puff of her colt and did a little dipsy-doodle across both lanes of the highway, ‘In a sec' sweetie ... I'm just getting ready.'
‘Well hurry up chere ... it's hot under here.'
The leggy blonde gave her friend a little *huff* and moved her foot over to the brake. Never one for halves she slammed down hard on the pedal ... screeching the car to a halt and barely giving the State Trooper enough time to stop without slamming into the back bumper.

‘Now that...' said Regan with a psychotic little grin, ‘was fun!'

The trooper sauntered up to the blacked out driver's window and gave it a little tap with the end of his pen. A young blonde woman rolled down the window and smiled up at the Officer through her red Ray-Bans as she turned down her stereo.
*This is going to be sooooooo much fun!*

Regan's face lit up at the sight of the big butch trooper ...
‘Oooh, are we on Cops?' she asked, sticking her head out the window and giving the trooper's car a little wave.
‘What exactly do you think you're doing Miss?' asked the Trooper ... not at all amused.
‘Um ... practicing for the Indy 500?'
‘Do you know how dangerous, not to mention illegal (he said it EEEEEE-lee-gall) , it is to have your windows blacked out like that Miss.'
‘Yeeeeees ... ‘
‘Why are your windows blacked out Miss?'
‘It's art! Don't you like it? It's very impressionistic don't you think ... it's just screams BLACK AEROSOL to me!'
The trooper bent down and peered inside the car- wondering what the heck this girl was on, ‘And what's that?' he asked motioning at Lucius.
‘Oh,' the blonde said gravely, ‘that's my sister ...' her voice dropped to a hush, ‘She's just sleeping it off.'
‘Sleeping what off miss?'
‘Do you know what a bacchanalia is?'
The officer nearly dropped his pad and pen.
 ‘Oooh, I see that you do! Well ...' Regan's voice fell to a hush again, ‘we're having one in the next town. Now you're not exactly my type but Polly's always liked em butch. Whadya say?'

‘Miss, step out of the car.'

‘Okay,' Regan said with a shrug as she pushed the door open and stepped out onto the scorching asphalt, ‘But only if you promise to frisk me.'
*This is just too much fun!*

The trooper gave Regan the usual run down ... can you touch your nose ... can you walk a straight line ... can you count backwards from thirty to one by one-thousands ... *boring boring boring* and quickly came to the conclusion that she was just a reckless kid with an attitude.

‘Do you own this car miss?' he asked her.
‘Nope.'
‘Then who does?'
‘Well technically a Mr. Fred Nelson of Topeka does but he's been dead for ... well ...' she shrugged and laughed, ‘a helluva lot longer than I've been alive.'
‘Who did you get the car from miss?'
‘Oh ... now that's a totally different question ... I got it from Spike.'
‘Whose Spike?'
‘My daddy. Are you going to let us go now Officer or is this just going to get messy?' Regan said inching towards the still open door.
‘Please lean against the vehicle (he said it ve-HICK-el) miss.'
Regan did as she was told, parting her legs *old school ... blah blah blah* and leaned against the sweltering hot body of the DeSoto. She could feel her skin turning grey already as it always did when it was exposed to sun for more than a few minutes, ‘Look Officer ...' she said over her shoulder, ‘If you let us go ... I'll flash ya!'
(This was all the hilarity Lucius could take)
‘MON DIEU!!!' he barked in an explosion of deep laughter that caught the trooper off guard.
‘Who the hell is that?'
‘I told you ... my sister!'
(Lucius began to laugh harder from under the blanket)
‘You're sister my ass!'
Regan turned around and gave the Trooper a little *huff*, ‘Have you NEVER heard of transvestites! Jesus H. Rosevelt, Lucius do you hear this,' she said leaning her head into the car, ‘We cross the bloody border and *BOOM* were caught in To Wong Foo! Mercy me oh my!'
If Lucius had still had breath he would have been gasping for it. The black haired vamp was laughing so hard his sides had started to hurt under the thick heavy fire blanket. *she is really too much sometimes*
‘Miss against the car!' The Trooper was losing his patience.
‘No, you get against the car ... and I'll frisk you ... how's that!'
The Trooper had had enough. He gripped Regan by the arm, spun her around and slammed her against the side of the DeSoto so hard she actually winced.
‘Alright ...' Regan said purcing her lips, ‘this isn't fun anymore. Lucius go ahead.'
‘Wh ...'
The Trooper didn't even have a second's reaction time as Lucius lunged out of the car, grabbed him by the throat and pulled him back in with a slam of the door.

*Heart - beeeeat .... heart - beeeat .... *

Regan jumped into the DeSoto a split second later and slammed the door behind her as quickly as she could. The Trooper's body was bent at an unnatural angle - his legs lying limply in the drivers footwell - his body pressed up against Lucius'. He stared at her from under Lucius' thick black hair, his pleading eyes slowly getting glassy as the vampire sucked his blood from his veins.

‘Yooooooooou were a very bad man,' Regan said, waggling her finger at the Trooper with a little smirk, ‘Yoooooou should have let us go!'

*Heart - beeeeat ... heart - beat ....*

Lucius dropped the corpse into the footwell and wiped his mouth on the hem of his shirt.
‘Good eats' Regan asked, already gathering the body up.
‘Ahhhh oui ...' Lucius signed, leaning back into the supple upholstery, ‘tres bein chere.'
Regan reached behind her back for the door handle with one hand while still holding the still-warm corpse up by her other, ‘Re-start the car ... cover up ... I'll be back in a sec,' and with that she pushed the door open and dragged the body out with a thud, closing the door again a second later.

Lucius watched out the back window as Regan hoisted the body into the trooper car, slamming the door behind it, then disappeared underneath the car for a moment. He cranked the player back up ... this song was growing on him.

*Ho - li - day ... far away ... to stay ... on a ho - li - day ... far away ... lets go to - day ... in a HART - BEEEEEAT!!!*

Regan re-appeared from under the car and proceeded to force the hood and tinker around under it for a minute. A second later she ducked back into the back of the DeSoto, grabbing the gas can.

‘I wish you wouldn't cut the fuel lines every time this happens chere... it takes up so much time.'
Regan gave Lucius a silly look, ‘Oh come on Lucius ... it's FUN!!!' and slammed the door behind her.

Back outside Regan quickly doused the car in petrol before lighting it on fire with a *WHOOSH*. A second later she jumped back into the car and hit the gas pedal. Regan gave Lucius a flushed, adrenalin-pumped grin as the DeSoto roared away from the scene. The black haired vamp just laughed and smiled. A second later they heard a deafening *BOOM* as the Trooper car exploded.

*On this road we'll never die ...*

Regan let out a jubilant ‘RAAAAAAAAAAAR!' and put the pedal to the metal, pushing them back up to over 170KM.
It was still another two days to Polly's but the trip had already deemed itself one of the best ever! The two friends started swaying back and forth to the beat of the song on the player, waving their arms around - sometimes in a little routine, most times flailing -  and singing along in shaky harmony ....

*Don't bother to pack your bags ... or your map ... we won't need them where we're goin' ... we're goin' where the wind is blowin' ... not knowin' where we're gonna stay ... Ho - li -day ... far away ... to stay ... on a Ho - li - day ... far away ... let's go today ...*

*In a heart - beeeeeat ...*