by M. Cheykota
Guess I don’t have to worry about sleeping outside tonight. I think deviously.
Tucking the cash into a zipper pocket on my backpack, I leave the park in search for food and a place to get some sleep.
Thank goodness, my aunt lived in a city and not in some ho-bunk country house way out in the middle of nowhere.
I walk to the first fast food restaurant I find that is still open after leaving the park and order a large sized burger meal. For someone who rarely ate anything other than ramen noodles or bologna sandwiches, the greasy burger and fries feels like a feast.
After I’ve had my fill, I find a motel a few blocks away to rent a room.
The aging woman behind the metal window-like cage has one of those beehive hairstyles from the sixties. Her wrinkled skin makes her look much older than she probably is. It is more likely due to cigarettes giving her the raspy voice I hear. She is resistant to giving me a room with no I.D., but Ulysses S. Grant changes her mind. I slide the fifty in the metal box and she slides me a room key.
I know I shouldn’t stay still for too long and risk the chance those vampires might come after me, but I’m too mentally and physically exhausted to keep moving tonight.
I open the door to the room. The smell of stale cigarettes and dust tickles my nose, causing me to sneeze. Doing my best to ignore the rank smell, I enter the room, shutting and locking the door behind me. I throw my bag on the bed and turn on the fluorescent light in the bathroom. With the shower on and heating up, I glance at the motel’s alarm clock to see it is 4:25 in the morning. I grab a change of clothes from my backpack and head for the shower. Within 20 minutes, I am clean, relaxed, and in bed.
Chapter 5
The next morning, I ask a stranger walking down the street where the bus depot is, and buy the next bus ticket out of town, which will take me to sunny Arizona. It will take me days to get there from where I am in Louisiana, according to the bus schedule, but hopefully by then, I’ll have a better plan about what I am going to do or where I am going to live.
On the way to Arizona at one of the rest stops in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I feel my blood thirst begin to rise. With no bagged blood, I realize I must drink from a human for the first time. Even though I have never done this before, my body seems to know exactly what I need to do.
It is dark and the bus will only be stationary for fifteen minutes. I creep off the bus, following the small group heading for the restrooms before veering off behind the dark building. It only takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Not far away, I can decipher a large figure lying under a tree. Checking my surroundings for anyone near me, I run as fast as I can and duck behind a tree near the figure. I look around to see if anyone is watching me, but there is no one else around. Light on my feet, the only sound I hear coming from the person on the ground are soft snores. I realize then it is a man, likely a drunk transient, sleeping. The sound of his steady heartbeat causes my fangs to extend. My hand wraps around his mouth to muffle his scream as my fangs plunge into the large vein on his neck. As his hot blood fills my mouth, I can taste his fear on my tongue as his heartbeat begins to race. Taking several long pulls through my fangs, I realize that alcohol saturates his blood, causing me to feel dizzy for a moment.
The taste of his hot blood is very different from the taste of bagged blood. I know I should stop, but it feels so good to feed and I’m so thirsty.
His heartbeat slows dramatically and stutters to a stop. My blood thirst is sated so I can finally release my hold on his mouth and retract my fangs. I look around again to make sure no one was watching me feed before I lift the blanket higher to hide my fang marks on his neck. The bus honks its horn and I run back towards the bathrooms. I quickly check myself in the women’s bathroom mirror to make sure I have no blood on my face or clothes before returning to the bus. I look out the window towards the transient, now lying very still on the ground, in remorse as the bus pulls out of the rest stop.
Either the man is dead or he’s close to it. Either way, I can’t do anything for him now.
When the rest stop is behind me, I lie back in my seat, fighting my tears. I know I didn’t have to kill him, but I have no idea how to get myself to stop feeding. I vow, right here, right now. The next time my blood thirst rises, I will do my best to find another way to get blood.
My overfeeding at the rest stop allows me a reprieve from my blood thirst for a few days after I reach Arizona.
For the first couple of days, I wander around Phoenix, trying to get my bearings, sleeping in motels until I find a rundown apartment complex that doesn’t require I.D.
Desperate for ways to earn money, I start working for the local hustlers on the street. For a portion of their profits, I provide them protection from pimps, gangsters and bullies. After demonstrating my ability to win fights against the most dangerous on the streets discretely using my vampire strength and martial arts skills, I rarely need to fight anyone anymore. Rumors spread about my fighting skills so just mentioning my name inspires fear in others and I love it. Most people will run from me or just give me what I want without any resistance to avoid my wrath.
Not long after I arrive in Phoenix, I begin to notice that I can slip into a person’s mind and persuade them to do what I want them to do, like my mother told me I should be able to do. I haven’t mastered this skill yet, but I use it when I find myself in a bind. My mind control is not very powerful yet, but I am able to manage well enough to keep out of trouble.
Over the next year, I learn what the world is like, compared to what I have read in books. With my self-defense training, vampire speed and strength, along with the healing capabilities of vampire and angel, I become reckless and ruthless.
Street thugs and gang members practically bow before me when I walk down the street. Word continues to spread throughout the area about my fighting skills. The ringleaders and crime bosses in the area start asking for my protection services and of course, I am more than willing to oblige, for a sizable fee.
I set myself up in a nicer apartment downtown and am there for several months. I have never had a real nine to five job. The types of jobs I have had since I left my aunt’s house consist of threatening to crack a person’s head open or breaking some bones. Usually it does not take much to get people to pay what they owe or to get whatever point across I am trying to make. All the high-end bookies like to use me to collect their debts. I manage to stay out of major trouble by looking like an innocent and non-threatening young girl, but those that know me are well aware of how lethal I am.
The kind of life I have been living is a lonely one. Being a powerful woman often intimidates men, so I haven’t had the opportunity to date, especially since human men are often my food source when my blood thirst rises.
When I first arrived on the streets over a year ago, it was difficult controlling my blood thirst. I tried hunting animals after I likely killed the transient at the bus stop, but they don’t nourish me nearly as well as live human blood. There is no one to teach me how to hunt as a vampire. My blood thirst often spins out of control until I wind up killing someone before I regain my control. Instead of feeding from several humans and manipulating their memories, which I haven’t learned how to do very well; I often try to fight the urge to feed until my blood thirst is riding me hard. When my body forces me to feed, I end up draining someone completely of their blood. Usually, a transient became my victim or someone else that wouldn’t have anyone looking for them.
After a few months with me feeding on humans when I first arrived in Phoenix, the transient population in my area had bottomed out. They were in a shelter at night or they left the area. Parks and sidewalks were usually empty of people by 10pm. The police patrolled the streets to protect the main populous, but they weren’t really looking very hard for the killer. There had been no reports on the news or any stories in the paper about the decline of the transient population. Hell, I was doing the city a favor.
I think the first year on my o
wn was the hardest to get through, mentally. By the time I turned eighteen, my body count was almost double my age. At first, I felt bad about killing men when I fed, but I got over it quickly. I had to. Denying my vampire nature had only made things worse for me in the end. At least if I killed the undesirables, I convinced myself that I was doing something for society as a whole, alleviating me of some of my guilt.
Chapter 6
It is close to midnight. I am about to feed on a drug addicted teenager in an alley in a warehouse district on the outskirts of the city I now call home, when a thin, pale, blonde haired man in ripped jeans and a black mesh shirt, slinks around the corner into my view. I try to get him to go away with my weak mind control, but it doesn’t work.
He doesn’t seem alarmed at all to see my fangs descended or my eyes shining their vampire silver streaks. It’s very dark back here. Maybe he can’t see me that well.
My keen vision allows me to see him clearly, even though he is standing at the mouth of the alley in the dark. He smirks, allowing me to see the tips of his fangs.
This Goth dressing punk is a vampire.
He speaks in a whisper, but my vampire hearing allows me to hear him fine. “You are forbidden to feed here. I will show you where you can find willing donors.”
He believes I am just another vampire. If I go along with his belief, maybe he’ll tell me where I can find blood and I won’t need to kill anymore.
I let the punk kid go. He is scrawny and would not be a good meal anyway. He falls to the ground and faints from fright.
“My name is Drake.” The vampire introduces himself.
“Olivia.” I lie.
“Follow me and I will show you where you may feed.” He walks out of the alley, expecting me to follow him.
I follow him, curious about finding a feeding ground for vampires. We don’t walk very far, only out of the alley to arrive at the entrance of the warehouse next door. The warehouse looks like most of the others on this block. This particular warehouse is made of stone or concrete compared to some of the others made of sheet metal. Large planks of wood and blackout paint cover the windows.
“Our feeding buildings are marked with UV paint that only our kind can see.” He points to some intricate character that resembles a graffiti tag high above the doorway. “Can you see it?” He asks.
“Yeah.” I nod, cautiously standing behind him, well out of his reach.
“That is the symbol we use to specify feeding buildings.” He lectures me while walking across the parking lot closer to the large concrete pathway in front of the door.
I follow him at what I believe is a safe distance. “Why are you telling me this?”
“You are bringing too much attention to our kind feeding out in the open. I have been sent to stop you.”
“Who sent you?” I stop, alarmed that I didn’t notice anyone else watching me with the punk.
“My master has sent me, of course. Where is your master?” He turns around to wait for me to continue following him towards the door.
“He’s dead.” I reply, thinking of my father.
Drake is quiet for a moment. “My master would like to meet you.”
“No thanks. I was just passing through. I’ll just have a snack and keep moving.” I am becoming wary of his intention. My hands itch to draw my twin daggers.
“That was not a request. If you meet with him and talk, things will go easier for you.”
I cross my arms, putting my hand closer to the hilts of my twin daggers under my shirt, but refrain from pulling them out. “I never do things the easy way. I think I’ll be going now. I don’t like being threatened. It never ends well for the one threatening me.”
As I am backing away from him, I see him tilt his head as he is watching me. “Your mind is very strong. I cannot control you.”
“Good. Let me say this so there is no confusion then. Do not mess with me and I will let you live. Just turn around and let me leave.” I offer, sparing a quick glance over my shoulder to look behind me while keeping the vampire in front of me in my eyesight. The path behind me is clear so I continue to move backwards, away from Drake.
“My master will not allow you to leave without speaking to him.” He states irritably, but stays where he is.
“Who is your master?” I ask Drake, my tone dripping with venom. I am almost back at the parking lot, far enough away that I can risk another glance behind me.
“My name is Austin.” A vampire standing next to a nearby tree responds to my question.
I turn in the direction of the voice to see a handsome, sinuous man with golden blonde hair long enough to pull back in a low ponytail around the nape of his neck. His eyes are glowing silver in the darkness, indicative of vampires when emotions are running high or they are using their vampire powers. He has a very slender build, but he is not much taller than my 5’8” height. Austin is maybe 5’9” or 5’10”. He is wearing a grey suit with a pale blue shirt that matches the color of his eyes. He watches me like a lion stalking his prey.
My hands are now around the hilts of my daggers and they tingle with anticipation. I don’t try to hide my intent from either of them. My heart is pounding like a prey animal under attack.
He stalks towards me. I allow him to move closer to give myself a better shot at attacking him. Figuring out my intentions, he stops a couple of feet in front of me, his eyes flick to my hands. “You smell of fear. I like fear with my food.”
With that declaration, I draw my hidden daggers and point them at Austin standing in front of me.
I feel the cold of his power wash over me, but nothing happens. His eyes widen in surprise before he turns his attention to Drake.
“Drake, you have delivered my message successfully. Go inside and allow us to talk privately for a few minutes. We will be inside shortly.” Austin tells him with an air of authority.
Drake nods and goes inside the building.
I get extremely suspicious and tighten my hands on the hilts of my daggers, preparing for a fight.
Austin circles me, eyeing me with a renewed interest. “You are different from other vampires. You behave as if you are young, but your mind is strong as one that is old. Who was your master?”
“Why do you want to know?” I ask him stubbornly.
“He should have taught you better manners.” Austin frowns in disapproval.
“There is nothing wrong with my manners. You are just being nosey.” My eyes flash with a glimmer of silver as my blood thirst begins to rise as well as my anger.
“You are hungry. We will feed before we talk.” Austin announces.
“I told you. We have nothing to talk about.”
“Come.” He demands, ignoring my irritation and starts walking towards the feeding building’s door.
I just watch him, unmoving from my spot.
He rolls his eyes in annoyance. “Please? You should put away your weapons. We would not want to scare the patrons.”
The door opens. He walks inside and waits in the doorway with his hand extended towards me.
Thirsty, and curious why Austin isn’t trying to kill me, I put my daggers away and accept his hand.
We walk inside the warehouse into a sea of people spread throughout the large interior of the building. Some are dancing close together on the dance floor in the middle of the room, while others are walking around mingling. The lights are very low and the beat of the music closely resembles the pulse of a beating heart. Small bar tables surround the dance floor. Most of them are full with people that look to be having a good time. There is a crowded bar off to the left and the DJ booth is in the corner off to the right.
Austin guides me through the crowd. People seem to part as we approach them. I look around in curiosity as Austin drags me behind him. Mesmerized by all the action around me, it is shocking to witness some vampires feeding on humans openly on the dance floor. Now aware of what is happening around me, I notice humans and vampires making out all around us.
Austin offers me a chair at a reserved table close to the edge of the dance floor. I sit in the offered seat and he takes the chair across from mine, on the opposite side of the table. Men and women are watching us expectantly.
Austin turns to me. “Do you have any sexual preference for feeding?”
Shrugging, I answer reluctantly. “Not really. Whatever.”
A leggy brunette female with short hair and wide brown eyes moves closer to us and lies down on the table, exposing her neck between us. Her short, black dress barely covers her body enough to consider what she is wearing legal in most states. There are old scars from vampire bites on her neck.
She must have vampires chomping down on her quite often if the wounds have not fully healed or left scars.
The woman smiles up at Austin. He fondles her breasts, exposing her body to the crowd. She moans as if she enjoys the attention. Austin runs his pinky finger across her left breast in front of him and draws blood with his fingernail. He licks and sucks on her breast, forcing more blood from the small opening.
“Please do not let me stop you from feeding.” He says while pinching the woman’s nipple.
The smell of her blood has my eyes nearly glowing silver. I bend over to her neck and lick her pulse. She moans. Austin moves his hands down her body and under her skirt. She bucks from his touch. He must be good at whatever he is doing because in seconds, her breathing is labored and shallow. I plunge my fangs into the vein on her neck, sucking deep.
I can taste her rising excitement as her blood races into my mouth. She reaches her climax and the rush of her orgasm hits me. I suck deeper, experiencing a feeling I have never felt before while feeding. It is as if whatever he is doing to her is actually happening to me.
