Even his build had gone from strapping to merely fit. With the number of witnesses around, Hugh shook his head and walked away from the bouncer. Two hundred years ago, he would have killed the man where he stood and not thought twice about it. In the current, 21st Century electronic age, the attack would be splattered all over the news and internet within minutes. ‘Short man attacks bouncer! Details at eight.’ Hugh bounced his rock-hard shoulder off a passerby who staggered to the side. “Watch where you’re going!” he snarled. Hugh continued down the main drag.
Nearer to the edge of the red-light district he would begin to look in earnest. He was pulled from his thoughts with the often heard (on this street anyway), “Want to go find a party?”
Hugh looked up at the girl. She was scantily dressed and young. A waist length fur coat covered a short dress and even shorter top. Maybe twenty or twenty one. Just what he was in the mood for. “Honey, I am the party.”
The girl giggled; she had never heard the line before. She never would again either. “Wow, you’re funny and cute. What are you in the mood for?”
“Most anything. Most everything.”
The girl’s face scrunched up, “You’re not a cop are you? You have to tell me if you are or it’s entrapment you know.”
Very young, thought Hugh, to still believe one of the Great Lies pimps told. “No. I’m about as far from a cop as you can get. Do you have a place?” he asked more testily than he wanted to. Frustration was beginning to stoke the flames of anger. “A quiet place?
“Yeah, around the corner on the top floor” said the young girl. “What are you in the mood for?” she asked again, warily.
“Nothing weird. Straight stuff.” Hugh said reassuringly. There was no reason to tell the truth to the girl. “I just want to blow off some steam, that’s all”, he said for what had to have been the thousandth time. “I’m Hugh, by the way.”
“Laura” said the girl as she relaxed. “Hugh. Is it short for something?”
Hugh frowned, he had assumed that was his name when he first heard it, and after some research had discovered that it was, in fact, a good and proper surname and belonged to one of the men who lived in Jamestown. It had just gone out of style and lately caused him no end of annoyance. He had thought of changing what he called himself, but since it was a link - the only link - to a past he would never recover, he kept it. “That’s my name; just Hugh. I’m not from around here”, he said testily.
“Sorry. I wasn’t trying to get you upset”, said Laura, worried she was losing her trick. She went back to business. “So regular straight stuff. That’s going to cost you fifty bucks.” She tensed again, worried there would be haggling.
“Sounds good to me”, Hugh lied again. The anger was building as were the pangs in his stomach. “Let’s get going, Laura. It’s getting late and I want to get started.”
Laura giggled, “It’s still early, silly.” She took Hugh’s arm and led him around the corner and down the block. Stairs led up in regular intervals up to the entrances of apartment buildings, alternating stairs led to basement apartments much like the one Hugh lived in. Halfway down the block, she stopped and went up the short flight of stairs to an ornate double door with wrought iron worked over the glass. “In here, just Hugh.” She pulled a key from a hidden pocket in her miniskirt and unlocked it. “It’s five flights up. I hope you aren’t tired when you get there.” She giggled again.
Hugh followed her into the foyer, impatience building on the anger. The girl turned and smiled at Hugh, “Let’s go then”, she said.
Lunging for the girl, he slung her over his shoulder and turned to the stairs. Screams of terror erupted from the girl. As Hugh took the stairs two at a time, her screams turned to squeals and giggles. “Now you’re really going to be tired!” she said as she bounced on his shoulder. In no time they were at the top of the fifth floor.
Hugh put her down gently. He didn’t appear winded. “You’re light.” A fake smile spread across his face.
Laura blushed and playfully shoved him. She ended up pushing herself back instead of him. “Let’s go in, silly Hugh not from around here.” She moved past him and unlocked the door. Stepping in she turned on the light. She smiled an inviting smile over her shoulder as she entered. He didn’t need to be invited in, but it did, for some unknown reason, make him more comfortable. As he had for a little more than 100 years, he wondered if Mister Brahms had a similar condition to have gotten so many idiosyncrasies right. Brahms; another unusual name, thought Hugh, even if it was only short for Abraham.
A short hallway created by a small bath to the right led to a large room, bed on one side, couch on the other. Hugh followed her in, made his way to the bed and sat on it. He was accustomed to the routine and did not need small talk to get it started.
“Did you bring your own protection?” Laura asked as she sat on the couch. She shrugged out of her coat and removed her thigh-high boots.
“Nope.” Through the centuries Hugh had learned that his condition not only provided perpetual youth, but was also able to keep diseases at bay. He had been exposed to the entire alphabet of Hepatitis viruses, Small pox, Influenza, Herpes, and, once Rabies. None had more than a few days effect on him, causing mild discomfort then disappearing completely. Whether he was a carrier or not did not even concern him. The people he came in contact with intimately never lived long enough to develop any symptoms of their own.
“Well we’re using something.” said Laura flatly as he picked up a small cardboard box from the coffee table. “I’m not going to do this forever and when I stop, I don’t want any reminders.”
“Of course you don’t.” agreed Hugh, rage surging inside him. “It’s getting late so I want to get started.”
“Where’s the silly Hugh I know so well?” giggled the young girl as she moved to the bed. As she went, she shrugged out of her short skirt and pulled her top over her head. In those two quick motions, she was completely naked. “Am, I going to work around those clothes?” She said, still smiling.
Hugh stood and quickly shed his clothes. He kicked them a safe distance away. In any case, it made cleaning up easier. He looked at her with smoldering eyes. “Ready?”
“Always”, smirked the girl as she moved in front of Hugh. “The question is, are you?” She kept her eyes locked with is as she placed the condom on him. Once she was done, she pushed him back on the bed.
In one smooth motion as they fell back, Hugh grabbed her shoulders and spun around her so when they landed, he was on top.
The girl looked at him with surprise in her eyes. “Wow, strong and fast.” She giggled again. “This will be fun.”
Hugh saw no fear whatsoever in her eyes. He slid his hands down her shoulders and took her hands in his. Roughly he pulled them out tight. Even at his now slightly below average stature, he was still bigger than the girl. A glint of fear ran across her eyes. It made Hugh’s blood boil. “Ready?” he asked roughly.
“Always”, she replied albeit shakily.
Hugh kissed her gently and felt her relax under him even though he had not let go of her hands. There was no need to have her screaming in terror; that brought the authorities around. He lifted his face from hers mere inches- they locked eyes as their noses practically touched. “Here goes.” With that Hugh moved to her throat. Thinking he was going to kiss her there, the girl turned her head accommodatingly. Opening his mouth wide, showing off pointed teeth, he bit her through the front of the neck, crushing her vocal cords. The girl struggled as blood poured down her esophagus. Hugh raised his head and looked the girl in the eyes again. This time full blown terror was in them. “Now it’s a party, Laurita.” He smiled wide and let her blood pour out the sides of her mouth. Her eyes grew wide as her lungs began to fill with blood. Her mouth moved to form a scream but the requisite parts necessary to make it happen were now terminally crushed. “Oh baby, that’s what I like to see in a pretty girl’s eyes.” Hugh drank the girl’s blood as she struggled under him. Finally
after only a couple of minutes, she had drowned on her own blood and lay still. When she stopped moving, he let go of her hands but continued to feed.
After fifteen minutes, Hugh stood beside the bed. It was drenched in blood- his was an inefficient way to eat, but most satisfying. Once, on a lark, he had raided a blood bank. Even though the blood was filling, sucking it from a plastic bag made him feel dirty and cheap. After that one time, he returned to live prey and never looked back. Even animals were a better alternative, although a distant second to Humans.
Hugh used the girl’s bathroom to bathe. There was a razor in the tub and Hugh used it to shave. It had been weeks since he had shaved. That was something else the stories - at least the earlier ones - got right; he did not show up in mirrors. At least not properly anyway. He did have a form in them but they were very hazy and it was difficult to make out details.
Through the centuries, Hugh had picked up quite a bit of knowledge and understood that reflected light was what one saw in a mirror so if he didn’t show up there, then obviously, he should also appear that way to anyone looking directly at him. Plain and simple refraction. That was however, not the case. There was absolutely NO reason for the effect, otherwise he’d be shadowy looking to everyone and that wasn’t the case. He could not explain it; it was just one of the many mysteries of his condition that he accepted. Also, infuriatingly, motion sensors had trouble seeing him so when automatic doors made their appearance in the world, they caused Hugh such annoyance that a string of grocery store baggers had gone missing at one point several years ago in Ohio. The sensors on sinks, he avoided completely.
Running water was also something he had difficulty with. That was why he took baths instead of showers; he could feel his strength drain from him as the water ran down him. Heavy rainfall was unpleasant to the point of being debilitating. Curiously, crossing oceans was just a simple matter of acquiring a ticket or making a leap for the deck at night. As ships got larger, he took a longer run at them, but was still able to manage the deck. Thanks to a good running start, the QE2 had brought him back to the United States in style after his last trip to Europe. Crossing a stream that he had to wade through required all of his strength. Anything wider than about 10 feet and deeper than waist deep could prove lethal. Hugh thought back as he sat in the steaming tub to a time when it almost had been fatal -a little over four hundred years ago. Hugh thought back to when he lived in Jamestown, Virginia. Or more accurately, as he was leaving Jamestown for the last time- barely a week after the Change
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Running at a full sprint, Hugh ducked under branches and hopped over stumps. He was moving extraordinarily fast and no human would have been able to match his speed for more than a minute. He had been at it for forty-five. Unfortunately, his extremely-fast-for-a-human speed was not so unattainable for a horse, or more precisely, horses. Such as the several horses that were currently chasing him. If it were not for the broken terrain, they would have been on him long ago. Hugh made sure to keep to the trees and avoid the occasional field or meadow.
Thanks to the new snowfall, his barreling path through the white forest was so visible the men had no trouble keeping on his trail. It was only a matter of time before he would have to slow down. The men chasing him were surprised it had not happened yet. Hugh knew it would happen soon. He could feel himself tiring ever so slightly. He knew if he slowed, he could keep at a fast run for another hour possibly an hour and a half but a fast run would not keep him ahead of the horses. The forest was not that thick. Spying a stream to his left, he decided to use it to mask his trail and hopefully avoid the mounted men; he had not heard any dogs which was a good thing.
Hugh turned and sprinted headlong into the stream. The cold water immediately soaking him to mid-thigh as he turned and ran downstream. Within five strides, his pace slowed. Hugh thought it was the drag of running through nearly waist-deep water when the cold began to creep up his legs to his torso as the water flowed past him. He began to slow rapidly as the cold reached his chest. Suddenly his limbs felt as if they were made of rubber. It was as if his strength were being washed out of him. As realization came to him, Hugh turned and tried to make his way to the far side of the stream. He barely made it as he pulled himself up by his arms. Once out of the water, his strength did not return, but at least it had stopped fading. He rolled over a log and tried to make himself as small as possible behind it. He peered under it as the men came to the river and stopped.
“Up or down stream?” said one as he looked from one direction to the other.
“With how deep it is, I’d say down. You’d run faster downstream than up. That’s what I would do.”
The other men in the search party nodded in agreement. “Dru, this fellow runs faster than you’ve ever run in your life”, said one man. The group chuckled at the unexpected levity.
“Well, I’ve never had the likes of you chasing me, Thomas”, replied Dru.
“He’s going to get away. Up or down?” said the first man testily.
“Down” said Dru and Thomas at once.
“Agreed then” said the first, “just keep an eye on the banks. He may try to duck out on us.”
Hugh waited for the splashes of the horses to recede and then he lifted himself on unsteady legs. He was chilled to the bone and was unsure if it was the weather or the effects of the stream- mysterious as it was. He staggered into the woods, angling away from the men in case they doubled back when he came to a draw. Using the low ground as cover, he followed the draw up to the entrance of a cave. He had to get on all fours to enter the opening, but once inside, he was able to walk stooped over.
The area around Jamestown was peppered with small caves and many settlers used them as larders. This particular cave was only about ten feet across with a ceiling only four feet high. As a larder it would have been perfect; high and dry, with only one entrance to close. As a hideout, it was, Hugh knew, less desirable. Being small, searching it would be easy, and having one entrance, it was a perfectly formed trap. Nevertheless, Hugh sat down in the far corner and huddled for warmth. He was unprepared for the wilderness; his unexpected identification in a tavern made him leave town with only a light jacket, pants and a vest. Hugh shivered uncontrollably- the cold permeated his entire wet body.
A rustling on the far side of the cave drew his attention. As his eyes accustomed to the dark, he realized the cave was actually slightly larger than he had originally assessed; where he thought one corner of it ended was actually being occupied by a large bear. He could see its side rise and fall with each slow breath. It was mesmerizing and relaxing at the same time. Hugh watched the bear take long regular breaths for over an hour. Realizing he had escaped the search party, and skirted any issues with large bear which appeared to be hibernating blissfully unaware, he counted himself lucky. Hugh tried to move to the entrance of the cave to make sure the coast was clear when he realized his arms were not obeying him. Concentrating, he tried again with no success. Even looking down was impossible. Fear ran though Hugh as he realized he had frozen in place. His gaze returned to the sleeping bear. At least (for the moment) his eyes still moved. As far as he could tell, that was all that was still moving on his body; since The Change, Hugh was surprised -and more than slightly alarmed- by the fact that he only needed to breathe to speak and other bodily functions occurred only if he ate or drank something. Not that either was all that satisfying. It was the taste for blood that had drawn the attention of the authorities and the somewhere-outside search party. Four mangled bodies in three days had raised not only eyebrows, but also the vigilance of the town.
Hugh continued to stare at the slumbering bear, unable to do anything else. He knew the end was near. Either he would freeze to death, or he would be found out and hanged, or the bear would awaken (since it was late February after all) and eat him as its first Spring-time snack. Hugh only hoped that he had somehow died before then; being eaten alive was not a prospect he relished.
After two weeks, Hu
gh, still staring at the sleeping bear, awoke with a start. Apparently when tired enough, one could sleep with their eyes open. He heard birds chirping. Today was another warm day. Warm being relative as it was still hovering around freezing. However, with the warmth exuded by the bear, the cave was finally just above freezing. Hugh had begun to thaw. First his fingers moved, then later in the day, his elbows. By evening he was able to move both his arms. Finally, as night approached and temperatures dropped those few degrees above freezing were lost in the cave and once again, he was immobilized. For days, Hugh repeated this process; slowly thawing, using his arms first to push himself over, then on another day, drag himself closer to the bear. Finally, on the fourth day, he was beside the bear before nightfall and thanks to the closeness, remained in his partially unthawed state. By midday the next day, he was able to manage a kneeling position on still numb legs.
Hugh drew his knife and as quickly as his frozen arms would allow, thrust his blade into the sleeping bear’s eye, deep into its brain. It shuddered and threw him off as it died. Frantically clawing his way back to the bear, he huddled underneath it. Making a slit in the bear, he drank its blood before it dried up. Thanks to the nourishment and the warmth of the bear, this time by nightfall, Hugh was almost completely recovered.
Moving quickly, he skinned the bear in two large sections; top and bottom. He left the fur from the top of its head and neck attached to the upper skin to be used as a hood. Turning the torso skin inside out, he donned the fur-lined coat. It was much too large and bloody, but it kept the cold marginally at bay as he worked on a set of breeches from the lower half of the bear. A shudder of cold ran through him.
Easy Street, Unpaved - A Vampire's Change of Fortune (Hugh- Vampire. Hunter. King.) Page 2
