The man stumbled out of the bar, so drunk he could barely walk, and collapsed in the alley nearby. It seemed to our drunken friend, that the only occupants of the alley were a dumpster and several piles of trash, all lit by flickering streetlight. He didn’t even register the large black figure looming just out of sight, hovering in the shadows. The figure moved slightly toward the drunk, upsetting a pile of trash and making a sound. The inebriate scrambled to his feet, fearing it was the police. The black figure was upon him at once, reeking of blood and decay. The man caught a glimpse of gleaming white teeth before…

There was a whoop, and a knife lodged in the black thing’s shoulder. The monster hissed angrily and changed its focus from the drunk to the red headed woman at the end of the alley. She had a wicked grin on her face and threw another knife, this one lodging in the black thing’s forehead. It fell backward, hissing. The woman strode forward, pausing beside the intoxicated man, who was frozen in shock.
“Congratulations. You have just been save from certain doom by a conceited witch. You now have thirty seconds to run before that thing gets up again,” she told him, grinning like a maniac, while taking a machete out of her belt.

The drunk scrambled away, running as fast as he could in his inebriated state. The black beast started to stand, now growling viciously, but the woman kicked it back onto the ground and decapitated it, a spray of blood going up and catching her across the cheek. She laughed happily, pulling her knives out of the body, and turned around.
“Lettie! Did you see that! I got it in one shot! And the look on that drunk’s face!” she cackled.
“You know I’m not one for gore, Crimson,” Scarlett told her twin, a hint of a smirk across her face. Crimson sighed, wiping the machete on her jeans and putting it back in its sheath.
“You know, it’s not so much fun showing off if you’re not paying attention,” Crimson scowled at her sister.
“Your face’ll get stuck like that Crimmy,” Scarlett informed her, turning back to the car. “Come on. Jenny’s waiting with dinner at home, and I still need to scry for the rest of that vampire’s nest. There’s never just one.”
“I’m so glad your girlfriend is willing to be a domestic slave,” Crimson strode to her sister’s side. “Otherwise we’d get kicked out of every rental place we got our hands on!”
“Jen is a treasure,” Scarlett smiled affectionately at the thought of her partner, climbing into the driver’s seat of her and Crimson’s old Ford pickup truck. Four door, big enough to hold several people and all the weapons the two witches could need.
“Speaking of people, have you heard from Carmine recently?” Crimson asked, referring to her and Scarlett’s older brother. She pronounced his name like the separate words, car and mine.
“You know I’d tell you if I had,” Scarlett shook her head, starting the truck. “Stupid boy. He never calls us and worries us to death.”
“Hey, at least we know he’s not pulling a Dad and running around trying to get himself killed. Carmine’s entirely too fond of himself for that,” Crimson replied and both girls laughed.

Crimson turned on the radio and started singing Highway to Hell by AC/DC at the top of her lungs. Scarlett laughed, but told her to keep it down so they didn’t wake up the whole town. Crimson sang slightly quieter. Two more songs of Crimson’s off key singing lead them to their rental house and to home cooked pork chops with macaroni and cheese made by Jenny. Scarlett thanked her profusely, saying they’d help with dinner next time, but Jenny brushed her off, knowing that it was a lie. If the Carter witches heard about something supernatural terrorizing innocent people, everything else got put on a back burner. That was one thing Jen loved about Scarlett, she and her sister had an overwhelming desire to protect and care for people.

Well… Scarlett liked caring for people. Crimson was much more complicated. Under thick layers of sarcasm, occasional self-loathing, single-mindedness, and bloodlust, she was still not really nice. It was clear, however, that she loved her siblings and had soon come to love Jenny as well. Crimson was absolutely stunning, could get any man she wanted and frequently did. She also had an ardent love affair with alcohol, food, chocolate especially, and weapons. Jen, when asked, would swear up and down that Crimmy’s wardrobe consisted almost entirely of shirts and tank tops with either bands or sarcastic sayings, dark jeans, and button down shirts which were worn open over the t-shirts. Crimson only had two pairs of shoes, black combat boots and black heels. The only jacket she wore was a black leather biker jacket that she’d had since she was thirteen and was still too big on her. It made her wild, violently red hair stand out all the more.

Scarlett, while not being the opposite of Crimson, was certainly more likeable. Scarlett had a sarcasm problem as well, only heightened by her intelligence. She wasn’t warm in the beginning, but if you took the time to know her, you’d see she had a heart of gold. Where Crimmy was the man of action in the relationship, Lettie was the researcher, the planner. That was just how Lettie preferred things. She could kill things and frequently did, unless she was certain Crimmy could handle it on her own. Perhaps Scarlett’s fairly large square glasses made her look bookish, or owlish, but it was still clear she was just as beautiful as Crimson. Scarlett stuck with regular button down shirts and a canvas jacket with red Converse high tops, always with jeans. Where Crimson was wild, Scarlett smoothed her out.

Next to these two, Jenny felt thoroughly average with her mousey brown hair and brown eyes. Scarlett always made sure to tell her how beautiful she looked because she knew how Jen felt about herself. Jen wished she could see what Scarlett saw. Crimson, on the other hand, was brutally honest. If asked, she would tell you if she thought you looked horrible without considering your feelings.

Their little trio was a sight to behold, certainly, but when Carmine, the twin’s brother, showed up they looked truly odd. Carmine was nearly six foot seven, dwarfing his five foot six sisters and tiny five foot two Jenny. He had bright red hair as well, but his was curly like Crimson’s, not straight like Scarlett’s. He was a rather statuesque figure, and very muscular. Jen had to admit that if she were inclined toward men, he would be one to pine for. He was much more erratic than the sisters, but much more outwardly nice too.

Jen had known the twins would be late and had eaten some hours before. She smiled as the two ate their rather large helpings. Scarlett ate slowly, cutting her meat and eating all of it first, then starting on the pasta. Crimson practically ate her pork chop whole and gobbled down the macaroni before getting extra helpings of both and asking for beer. Jen exchanged a knowing smile with her partner. Crimmy and alcohol were rarely separated for long. Jen grabbed a beer out of the fridge, glancing out the window of rental place as she did.

She screamed and dropped the bottle. The vampires were through the window and swarming the kitchen before the beer hit the floor. Jen was knocked out instantly, but her last sight was of Crimson and Scarlett whirling machetes all around them, trying to stem the violent bloodthirsty tide.