“So we kill the locals then?” I question.
“No, we kill the evil doers and rid the streets of New Orleans of the filth that pollutes her,” he quietly tells me.
“You said there are others, do they do this or is this your preference?” I question
“It is my preference,” he answers.
“Why?” I ask.
“I never wanted to be this, Mon Cherie, so I make do with what has been given to me. I am a police officer because it helps me find the evil doers,” he explains. “I give justice when the justice system fails the people. It gives me some sense of purpose if I make the city a little safer. I enjoy the idea of being able to save people. There is no point in seeing humans kill each other off. It has been an ongoing dilemma since the days of Genesis. There is no resolution to stopping murders from happening on a daily basis. Murder is a part of human nature; it is a part of the worlds natural design. There is no rhyme or reason to it. It just occurs. Feeding off of a murderer or some heinous person makes me feel a small sense of absolution. If my life were to end, then maybe I will see heaven in the end. Maybe there is no heaven and life just ceases to exist for our kind. We will never know what happens after death,” he explains.
I sensed his sadness, his despair in his quiet voice. Maybe, now he was grateful to have someone to share his thoughts with. I put my hand in his and looked up at him. I believed, that had I met him in some previous life, I could feel safe to be with him. I saw the corners of his lips raise to a smile and his melancholy had vanished just as suddenly as it had appeared. I quickly changed the subject.
“What is our hunting area?” I ask. I knew most hunters in general tended to have their favorite places to go. I knew people who had deer leases outside of San Antonio or on into West Texas. I guess it was just preference. Personally, I would have been the one trying to save the deer. I could not bear to see an animal suffering or the light leave their eyes. It was heartbreaking for me to see. Surely this was my hell. To feed off of humans and to see the light fade from their eyes.
“We hunt from New Orleans on into Texas, Mississippi, and Mexico,” he tells me. “We go as far as we need to go in order to remain discrete.”
“Also one warning, our blood also heals. So if you were to only bite someone it will cause them excruciating pain while we feed off of them. If you then feed your victim your own blood it allows for the change to occur. Just because you feed off of someone does not mean they will change. You have to feed them your blood as well, thereby completing the transformation.
I tend to abstain from biting someone whose torture I want to prolong. If you feed a victim very little of your blood it heals them. As long as you do not feed off of them, the change will not occur. As you learned I drank from you and in turn you drank from me, this allows my blood to spread through you and create a new vampire. The blood of a vampire kills the mortal body and the blood also revives it. There aren’t many of our kind, as it is a difficult process to begin. Most of us generally give in to our very nature and kill our prey instead,” he clarified.
“The sun is almost up, let’s get you settled,” he tells me.
“What day is it?” I asked him.
“It is Tuesday. You have been out of it for about three nights,” he answers nonchalantly.
Three days, I had been in excruciating pain for three days and now it is as though that time never happened. It felt like an eternity, lying there being tortured all the while. Not knowing if I was dead or alive, in heaven or hell. Together we walk through the French Quarter only now it is quiet, all is still. The partying on my final night as a human has long since died away. Sure there was a straggler here or there, but it was mainly the workers of the French Quarter cleaning the filth for another day.
We walk the streets in silence. The birds chirping on occasion to break the silence. The cicadas singing in the early morning. I see the early morning rays of sunshine. It is a new dawn. I have been reborn. The beginning of another life. One without my family. One where they are no longer a part of my future. When I fed of that man in the cemetery, I finally understood why I could not be there for them. They are human and I am not. The instinct to feed overpowers me. It is one that cannot be controlled at the drop of a hat. There is no on and off switch. I had to concede that they were better off without me.
We approach Jack’s house just as the sun begins to come up. I walk over to a nearby bench and look at the sun as it rises from the east. I see the bright orange and yellow of the sky and I remember how beautiful it looks. I turn to look at Jack and realize he does not sparkle, like glitter, nor did we ignite into flames. He had a certain glow about him. The kind of glow that gave him a certain mysterious aura. It was so strange. Only in the sun did I notice how different he appeared to me. His skin so pale, chalky, almost sickly.
Jack had explained that naturally people avoid us and most do. However, some people still tend to disregard that little instinct that screams danger. We are able to live amongst them as friends, coworkers, and neighbors. He did inform me that given my “recent departure” as he put it, that there is an active missing persons’ case on me.
Again I felt that pain, the tear at my chest and I saw his eyes tear with blood. I was saddened by the news he had given me. I was officially missing. I was not entirely sure what all that entailed for me or what the future held. I knew I could not stay in New Orleans. Sooner or later we would run into each other and how would I explain my absence. I felt Jack hand as he gently wiped them away and asked that I not feel that pain in his presence.
“No promises,” I tell him.
Jack turns away from me, with a somber expression on his face.
“Salome, are you angry with me?” He gently asks, his voice is but a whisper.
“No why would I be angry with you?” I gently ask him.
“We have talked of many things but this,” he tells me, “your new life. I know you must feel overwhelmed by your senses, but how are you coping with all of this.
His question stunned me. This was not something I was prepared to talk about. It was too soon for me. I was missing my family. I could still hear their laughter in my mind. I was still unsure which direction life would take me. I knew I no longer had a family to go back to. I also had no tie to Jack either, other than as creator and creation. There was nothing to keep me here.
“Jack,” I begin, “it will take some time, some adjustment,” I tell him. “This is so different, so confusing. I am not sure I even know which direction I am going. I feel so alone in a new world. There is no place for me here anymore. I can no longer be with my family, other than you being my creator, I have no tie to you. I am orphan in a brand new world,” I explain to him.
Jack offers to take me somewhere faraway so I can be normal, or whatever normal is for our kind. Jack is concerned I will be out and about and be recognized. How will I explain to people what happened to me? I agreed to go away. Jack said we could leave in a few weeks, only because he needed the time to have the necessary documents prepared for me. A new name, new life. I have been born again, in a sense. I agreed to go away with him. It would ease the temptation to go find my family, but not fully make it go away.
In the meantime, Jack provided me with an allowance to purchase clothes or whatever I needed. Mostly I bought what I wanted, it’s what I used to do before. Retail therapy some would call it. I bought beautiful gowns and accessories to go with them. I also bought blue jeans and tee shirts. I was unsure how a cut and color would go since I was still new to this life. I opted against pushing it. With my luck my hair would probably grow back in front of the stylists.
I spent my time mainly in Jack’s house. Within in days I had run out of books to read. I loved the classics. I was amazed he had many books that were very old and delicate. I was afraid they would disintegrate in my very hands. The only time I ever went out was with Jack to hunt.
We are scheduled to leave in a few weeks. When Jack told me we were going to travel thro
ughout Europe, I became ecstatic. I worried because I was not too sure what he meant by traveling throughout Europe. I wondered where exactly we would be going. Jack kept our itinerary secret. A surprise for me I guess I would find out soon where we are headed.
Deep down I still longed for the life I no longer had, but at this point leaving would be a better option for me. Jack worries I will take off and go find them, but I know I can only save them from a distance. Jack had reason to be worried, I was deeply tempted to go see my family.
*****
It has been a week since I last fed. This has Jack concerned but curious. According to Jack newborn vampires tend to want to eat everything in sight like a Chinese buffet. Not me. I happen to be the one that is different. It was always an ongoing joke back then with Axel. Everyone could get a cold and by the time it got to me it would be the flu. Stranger things have happened. Since my new life, I had fed on a handful of souls, not many. I just did not care much for the taste of human blood. It saddened me to take a life regardless of their of guilt.
With a heavy heart, I have come to accept my new position in life. I am at the top of the food chain, and I must deal with the cards I have been dealt. So make lemonade from lemons. I was a shark in a world full of fish. I know I am going to have to go feed soon before we board the plane. I just keep procrastinating. I’ll let Jack know we can go out tonight and I will make sure to feed again before we leave.
6. FOR WHAT IT IS WORTH
A
FEW DAYS BEFORE OUR DEPARTURE, I sat deep in thought on the veranda, when Jack appeared breaking into my thoughts. He looked at me, more out of concern. I turn to look at him and for the first time I realize how young he looks. Yet his hazel eyes give away his age. I had wondered how old he was. From his library collection, I could tell he was far older than his appearance and far wiser. Jack was able to get me a passport, birth certificate, driver’s license and social security card. All for the life of me were forgeries. Not just one set either. There were several with different identities. I was to pose as his daughter on some and his fiancé on others. It just depended as to where we planned to go, or if we had to get out of Dodge fast.
Jack’s generosity towards me had stunned me. He gave me my own bank accounts and credit cards. I had never had so much money in my past life and now I was unsure what to do with it. At first, I tried to give it back, but he claimed the paperwork was already settled. He asked that I consider it sort of like compensation and the money was mine whether I chose to stay with him or not. I wanted to cry from his kindness, but out of vanity I did not want to ruin another outfit. It was a large fortune he had given me. I was unsure as to how to thank him. I wrapped my arms around his middle and hugged him. I may have sent him into shock since he was not exactly sure what a hug was by his confusion. I pulled back and smiled at him.
“Jack, do you remember my first meal with you?” I asked breaking the awkward silence.
“Yes. Why do you ask,” he looks at me questioningly?
“Well his thoughts have been plaguing me,” I answered.
“His thoughts what do you mean,” he asked.
“I have been wondering about them since that day,” I told him.
“What do you mean?” He asked me again.
“Jack while I fed off of him I heard his thoughts. Thoughts of his wife and children, and anger towards me. I hear the thoughts of others around me, including yours. I assumed it was just my imagination but then I realized when we are alone together, I hear your thoughts, your unasked questions, your unvoiced opinions, and sometimes I don’t get anything from you. It’s as though you are thinking of something you don’t want me know so you block your thoughts. When this happens I do not know if you are being honest with me,” I blabbed this whole confession to him and looked away in embarrassment.
“Salome, I have been honest with you since the beginning. Why do you ask?”
I can hear the maid in the kitchen preparing a meal she knows we will not eat and wonders why we bother wasting food. But you, at this moment are wondering “What the hell is wrong with me.”
“Theoretically, you hear me because I am your father, your creator. I will also know when you are in trouble, when you are mad, angry, sad, and happy. You will feel the same for me. As for hearing everyone else, that I have no explanation. There are others who are like you and I, but not very many, he tried to explain.” I was not sure if he was at a loss for an explanation. “Salome, I cannot tell you why that is. You can hear the thoughts of others around you, while I can feel the emotions around me. I know there will be a time when you will not want to feel or hear the things you do. In the beginning I had only thought you could hear the thoughts of others only now you have confirmed that theory for me,” he explained.
“My bella,” he continued, “the only thing I can honestly think of is that we have a gift, where you can hear the thoughts of others, I can feel the emotions of those around me. Also I has just learned that I may somehow be able to block you out of my thoughts. I wonder…” he left off in mid-sentence unsure of where this conversation was headed.
“I had heard of others like us with unusual gifts but never had I came across one like you,” he completed his thought. I could tell by his expression that he, himself was also curious. He must have never put much though in his ability or the ability of others. I could not imagine why he never considered it. I found myself curious about my own abilities now that I knew they were there. They were subtle, but still there. I guess it would just take time for them to develop.
“You mean there are more like me, I mean,” I blurted out.
“Yes. But to find one, such as yourself, by accident what are the odds of that. Mon Cherie you are a gifted vampire; I wonder what else you can do. The ones I have met through my travels have other talents such as tracking, mind powers opposite of what you can do. They disable their prey with a look. I just had never bothered to fully understand them. The only powerful vampire in our entire existence is our mother she has them all,” he explained.
“Our mother,” I interrupt his thoughts.
“Yes our mother, Lilith is the oldest and most powerful vampire in existence. She has powers I have never dared dream to have. She has them all,” he tells me.
“Our mother! What do you mean our mother has them all?” I excitedly questioned.
“She can fly, she knows the truth from a lie, and she can track., Our mother is also dangerous in one way. she feeds on the mortal and immortal alike. She does not waken often. She only wakens to administer the severest of punishments for the severest of crimes,” he explained.
“Crimes,” I interrupted him.
“Never reveal yourself to the mortals. We must stay in the shadows of the night. Salome, with your gift we can hunt with ease, just the thought of the possibilities is exciting,” he exclaimed.
“Tell me Jack. What are you keeping from me?” I asked.
He looks at me and he tells me everything.
“I have spoken with you husband Axel,” he looks away from me as he tells me. I put my hands to his cheeks and turn him back to me. “I did not want to burden you with more sorrow. I wanted to spare you from more pain.” At the end he looks away, but not before I notice the red brim of his eyes,
At first I was angry. I was angry that he chose to keep this away from me. This anger ebbed away quickly once I realized he did it for my sake and he is whisking me away to protect them from me. I could not stay angry at him for this. It was bound to happen. I just had not been expecting it. I delve deeper into my families wellbeing. I wanted to absolve Jack from this burden.
“Jack, can you tell me how they are doing?” I hesitantly ask him,
Jack’s blood stained face turns to me.
“They are mortal, they will heal and begin to move forward. For what it’s worth you have a beautiful family.” At this he embraces me.
“Thank you, Jack. Thank you for telling me. Just promise me no more secrets,” I begged of him.
“There is nothing to fear from feeling human,” I explain. “Sorrow, anger, and joy are all part of being human. It is a different type of emotion than the one you get from hunting. I bet you have not felt love in such a long time,” I regretted the words once they left my lips. I saw a certain memory pass through his mind. He was a man who had loved once, along time again and he also lost that same love.
I put my hand in his to show him comfort and instead it is he who is comforting me.
“My wife died in child birth when I was still mortal. With you in my life, I have remembered what it feels like to live and love…I am suddenly more human now than ever”
I felt sad for him and a tear threatened to fall and as awkward as it was for him he wrapped his strong arms around me in a hug.
7. MAD WORLD
I
N MY HUMAN LIFE I HAD FEARED travel by air. I preferred to stay grounded. I also feared travel by sea. So tomorrow is the first time I get on a plane and travel to another country. I know if anything happens, such as the plane crashing that I will get out unscathed. The fun in being a vampire is the feeling of invincibility. I love to run; the freedom it allows me gives me this electrifying thrill. I discovered that I can run to Florida in minutes and the same to Texas. I would rather run and swim my way to London, but Jack won’t hear of it. According to him, we have to be civilized and take the plane just like normal people do.
Jack has chartered a private jet to fly us out. We both decided that I am not ready to be in the air with a bunch of innocent humans. No matter how controlled I felt my hunger was, I still posed a serious risk to them
To be honest, I actually do not prefer human blood and no matter what or who I hunt, it pains me. I actually tried the alternative and did not succeed. Feeding on animals does little to satiate the burning hunger inside. Animal blood makes me hunt more. It takes a lot of animal blood in order to be able to get a day or two in between feedings.
Evanescere: Origins Page 5
