First Class [Diablo Falls]

by Damon Kinney

In my case, two things. I also wanted to taste her blood. I would be extra cautious not to turn her, and was confident in my ability to restrain myself from drinking her dry and killing her.

  Never again.

  The plans we made were for her to come by the house for dinner at seven. I had originally intended to go by Greene's Grocer's and get something to cook for Sagan tonight, as well as to thank Devin for his dead-on perfect suggestion of the secret hot springs. Now, though, I knew I’d also need to go to the library to use a computer to look up that name.

  Which meant leaving earlier than planned.

  Which meant dealing with some degree of sunlight.

  Contrary to folklore, sunlight didn’t instantly vaporize vampires in a puff of smoke. That was the good news. The bad news was that it could indeed kill us. Every minute spent in direct sunlight weakened our systems. Too much sun and we’d grow weaker, and after a few hours it could reach a point where our internal organs just start shutting down. I’d seen it happen to enough friends over the years to know it was not pretty.

  To complicate matters, I couldn’t call for an Uber because I didn’t have a goddamn phone signal.

  If I left the house at five, I could walk downtown and be in the library in thirty minutes. That would leave me ninety minutes to do my research, get the groceries, and use a phone at Devin’s market to call a cab. With a little luck, I’d make it back home with a few minutes left to shower and make myself presentable.

  If that failed, I’d just have to convince Sagan to shower with me.

  * * *

  It occurred to me during the afternoon that the library might close at five, so I left the house an hour earlier than planned. Risky? Sure, but the desire to research that name was eating me alive. I word a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a scarf, along with a jacket that had pockets for me to shove my hands into. The less exposed skin, the better.

  I crossed through downtown Diablo Falls and stopped for just a moment to marvel at the waterfalls, visible from the town and sparkling in the early autumn sun. I drank in the beauty, then turned to continue on my way.

  “Excuse me, is your name Terrance?”

  I turned to find a woman I’d never seen before. Short and curvy, brown hair. A total stranger. How the hell did she know my name?

  “I am. And you are…?”

  “My name is Marcie. I’m Sagan’s roommate.”

  I’d heard Sagan mention her roommate a few times. “Hi, Marcie. Pleased to meet you.”

  She extended her hand, which meant I had to do the same. Wonderful. More exposure to the sun. My skin already had that familiar burning sensation.

  “I saw you and said to myself, ‘That looks like the man Sagan described.’ So I thought I’d introduce myself.”

  “And now you have,” I said with a smile. The toasty skin thing always brought out the smartass in me.

  “I just need a minute of your time, if I may,” she said, gesturing to a nearby bench. I sighed, likely loud enough for her to hear, then followed her over.

  “I only have a minute. I have some errands to run before—”

  “Before your big date tonight. Before you take Sagan’s virginity.”

  Well, this is going spectacularly.

  “Not to be rude, Marcie, but I don’t see where that’s really any of your business.”

  “Marcie is my business; she’s the best friend I’ve ever had. Look, Terrance, I’m actually glad she decided on an older guy, rather than some inexperienced young dude who couldn’t find a clit if you stuck it on his forehead. But Marcie is precious to me, and if you break her heart, there will be hell to pay.”

  I normally don’t react well to threats, but I honestly didn’t view this short chick as threatening in the least, regardless of her tone.

  “You don’t have to worry about that,” I said. “I’m very fond of Sagan and would never treat her callously.”

  “Well, you may be very fond of her, but she’s fallen in love with you and is ripe for a letdown once you leave town.”

  It felt like time stood still. I’m pretty sure my heart paused a beat or two.

  “Wait, she said that? She said she loves me?”

  “Not in those words, but I know the girl. She’s lost.”

  My skin felt like it was sizzling. My exposed face was soaking in sunlight and radiating it throughout my body. I felt the first stirrings of queasiness, which I’d hoped to avoid.

  “Marcie, I really have to go. You have my word that I won’t harm Sagan, emotionally or physically. Although we just met, she means the world to me and I’ll continue to treat her with respect.”

  I stood and kept my hand in my pocket as I said, “It was nice meeting you. I hope we’ll meet again after I’ve earned your trust.”

  I started to walk away, then heard my name again. I turned to see Marcie still sitting there.

  “Don’t forget that this is her first time,” she warned. “Take it easy with”—she looked around, then pointed right at my crotch—“that.”

  Stunned, I merely nodded then hurried on my way to the library. Pushing back the queasiness, I thought how close these two must be for Sagan to have shared that particular detail. It was something to consider, though I knew my way around a virgin.

  I was sweating when I entered the library and on the verge of puking. I had been right, they closed at five, and it was now four thirty. I held back the rising bile as I asked the desk clerk if there was a computer I could use. She looked at me warily and said I was supposed to have a card to use the computers. Straining just enough to muster some vampire charm, I convinced her to let me have the last half hour of the day without going to the trouble of registering first. If she had been less susceptible, or me a little weaker, I don’t think I could have convinced her.

  By the time I got the obligatory rules speech and settled in at a monitor, I had twenty minutes left. My first task would be to google the name Sagenia. The problem was that Sagan had spoken it to me, and I had no idea how to spell it. I tried a half dozen possibilities before I found one that had more than a page or two of results. Then I added the words “name” and “origin” to my search.

  Scanning the first page of results, one immediately caught my eye. It was for a site called NameOrigins.com, and the page in question was titled, “Origins of names from the 8th-10th Centuries.”

  My stomach lurched and I swallowed hard and took a couple of deep breaths. A drop of sweat rolled off the tip of my nose and it occurred to me for the first time that I might be in trouble. I pushed all of that to the side and clicked on the link.

  There was a list of names, organized alphabetically, and a brief synopsis of the name’s meaning and the country and time period when it had first been recorded. The first name listed was Ædelflete. I quickly scrolled down to the letter S, aware that my time was running out.

  Finally, I found the name Sagenia and read the entry beside it.

  Then I blinked and read it again, just to be sure.

  “Sagenia | originated in Arleta, circa 900-950.”

  It made such perfect sense that I intuitively knew the entire truth about the whole Sagan situation without having to think it over.

  Or at least I was pretty sure I did.

  I pushed away from the table and stood, knowing I had to find a cab and get home.

  Fuck the groceries. Fuck dinner.

  I needed time to think before Sagan arrived at the house.

  I called out a hurried thank you to the desk clerk, who had an alarmed expression. I was almost to the front door when I saw stars in my field of vision and felt my knees begin to buckle. I was pretty sure I was about to puke when my head slammed into the floor and the lights went out.

  * * *

  My memory of coming to consisted of half a dozen snippets.

  There was the feeling of something cold on my forehead.

  Then something cold was coursing through my veins.

  “It’s okay, buddy. Relax. You’re gonna be fine.”r />
  There was the distinct scent of a fellow vampire nearby, closer than I was comfortable with.

  Then the lights. So bright that I immediately shut my eyes again.

  After that were the voices. Several different voices.

  I slowly realized I was on the floor, surrounded by people. I recognized the library desk clerk, who looked like she regretted having let me in. The rest looked kind and concerned. Even the vampire, who was dressed like an EMT.

  I remembered thinking what a bad idea it was to let a vampire have such easy access to blood.

  Then there was the smelling salts waved under my nose, and I was suddenly half alert, enough to try to get up.

  “Easy there, Speedy,” the vampire EMT said. “You suffered from a little heat stroke, if you know what I mean. You need to lie there and rest till you get your strength back.”

  “I really think you should take him to the hospital,” the library clerk chirped, obviously annoyed at the whole situation.

  “I don’t think that’s really necessary,” the EMT said, winking at me. I realized that he knew I was a vampire and it wasn’t simple heat stroke I’d experienced. Taking me to the hospital would be the worst possible choice because they would have immediately drawn my blood, and that would have raised all kinds of questions these humans really didn’t want answered.

  “What time is it?” I asked.

  “Ten after seven,” someone said.

  “You’ve been out for a while,” the EMT said. Winking once more, he added, “I was going to take you to the hospital but thought it would be better not to move you until you regained consciousness.”

  Ah, the Kindred always look out for one another.

  “I have to get home,” I urged, my voice horse. I could taste and smell puke, and looked down to see my shirt had taken the hit. I linked eyes with the EMT and said, “It’s urgent.”

  “Everybody back up,” he said immediately. “Give the man some room.”

  When they’d taken a few steps back, he leaned to my ear and whispered, “How urgent? Scale of one to ten?”

  I didn’t hesitate with my reply: “A million.”

  Within a minute or two I was lifted onto a stretcher and wheeled outside to a waiting ambulance. The sun was no longer visible, and the streetlights were already on. The EMT said something about needing to get me to the hospital but winked to assure me he had something else in mind.

  A couple of other EMTs who also smelled of vampire helped lift the stretch into the ambulance, then the first guy climbed inside and I felt us moving.

  “My name’s Caleb. I’m Kindred, too. So what’s the big deal?” the EMT asked.

  “Terrance. Thanks for understanding. The situation is impossible to explain quickly.” I took a breath, realizing I was speaking too fast. Slowing, I continued, “I promise to fill you in later, Caleb. For now, I just need to get home to face the biggest moment of my life. Or at least, the biggest moment of the last millennium.”

  Caleb nodded, then rapped on the window separating the back from the cab. When the driver turned to look, Caleb made a circular motion with his upraised index finger.

  A second later, the lights and siren came on and I felt the ambulance quickly pick up speed.

  Sagan

  Well, this was unexpected. It was a quarter after seven and I’d been standing at the front door for twenty minutes, alternately ringing the bell, knocking, and sitting to wait.

  Lather, rinse, repeat.

  But no sign of Terrance.

  My heart had been singing on my way over. Hell, it had been singing all day while I was trying to teach students who were more interested about the upcoming Halloween festival in Satan Stumbles. Then I rushed home to shower, only to catch myself masturbating as I thought about what was awaiting me. I hurried through choosing an outfit, finally deciding on a simple little black dress with my best La Perla bra and panties on underneath.

  A girl only loses her virginity once, right?

  Only the nearly perfect man who was supposed to punch my V-card wasn’t home.

  I range the bell one more time, then got irritated and rang it a dozen times in succession.

  Then I waited.

  Still nothing.

  I began to think Terrance might have left town during the day without saying a word. If it was an emergency, he could have called. If not from his cell, then at least from a pay phone somewhere. Assuming those were still a thing.

  I finally decided to throw in the towel and head home, sad beyond belief. The sexual aspect was one thing, but I could have an orgasm anytime I wanted. And I’m sure there were other men willing to take my virginity, Brian’s little fit notwithstanding.

  But the thought of never seeing Terrance Delacroix again left me with an empty feeling that I knew would take months to get over. Maybe longer than that.

  I opened my car door and started to get in when I heard a siren in the distance. I couldn’t smell smoke, and it was too early in the season for ski accidents, and a little late in the day besides. Maybe cops responding to a call.

  I shrugged and climbed into the car, starting the motor. The sirens grew louder still, and I made a mental note to look carefully at intersections, just in case. Putting the car in reverse, my heavy heart and I began to back out of the driveway when out of the darkness I saw flashing light patterns against the trees in my rearview. The patterns quickly become actual lights as an ambulance roared into the drive, narrowly missing me as I slammed on the brakes.

  What the hell?

  I put the car in park and shut off the engine, then hopped out and ran to the ambulance as it screeched to a stop. The driver and the guy in the passenger seat hurried out and opened the back door, and I looked on in amazement as they drew out a stretcher with a sickly looking man on it.

  No, that was Terrance, who had obviously had a rough day.

  “Oh my god!” I exclaimed as I rushed over.

  Terrance saw me and smiled. He looked awful, but as I approached, he said in a hoarse voice, “Hi, baby. Sorry I’m late. I can explain everything.”

  The EMT said, “You must be Sagan. I’m Caleb. Let’s get him in the house.”

  I followed them inside the house, Caleb fishing the keys out of Terrance’s pants pocket. They set the stretcher in a huge living room, and that’s when I noticed the IV drip hanging from the side of the stretcher.

  It was red.

  Dark red. Blood red.

  What the fuck was happening?

  “Baby, this is Caleb, my new best friend.”

  The EMT smiled sheepishly as Terrance continued, sounding pretty loopy, “And these other two, I don’t know who the fuck they are, but they’re vampires, too.”

  It dawned on me that Terrance was drunk.

  “What the hell happened?” I asked.

  “Terrance here was out in the sun too long,” Caleb replied. “He suffered a form of heat stroke.”

  “It wasn’t heat stroke!” Terrance roared. “I got sun-fried!”

  This was all too surreal. I looked from one man to the next, not seeing anything solid in their eyes to build answers from.

  I knelt on the floor net to the stretcher. Terrance seemed comfortable and wasn’t even trying to get up. “Is he on something?” I asked that Caleb guy.

  “More or less,” he said. “We had to give him something to bring his temperature down.”

  I looked up again at the IV drip. The label had large letters “AB” and smaller ones that said, “AS-5 RED BLOOD CELLS.”

  “Was there an accident? Is he losing blood?” I yelled urgently. Why the hell wasn’t anyone giving me answers?

  Terrance looked at me and said, “Holy shit, that dress is sexy.” Then his eyes rolled backwards and the lids shut.

  He was out cold.

  I turned to Caleb and the other two and said, “Someone needs to tell me what the fuck is happening.”

  They looked at one another, then Caleb sighed and said, “Come outside for a minute.” />
  I followed him onto a beautiful back patio, with a pool glowing in the night and a hot tub off to the side, equally glowing with steam coming off the water.

  “Have a seat, please,” Caleb said.

  When we were both seated, he smiled and said, “So you’re Sagan. I learned an awful lot about you in a ten-minute drive.”

  “Caleb, what’s going on? Why is no one telling me anything? Is it something serious?”

  Caleb looked at the ground, then back at me. “This is going to come as a shock to you, Sagan. But I swear every word I’m about to tell you is God’s own truth.”

  I waited, holding my breath.

  “Terrance is a vampire.”

  What. The. Fuck?

  I was in no mood to play games. Instantly furious, I opened my mouth to speak, but Caleb got there first.

  “Hear me out, please. I know it sounds crazy, especially to a human, but it’s true. There are dozens of us in Diablo Falls.”

  “Us?”

  Caleb smiled, his lips parting wide enough to show the two elongated teeth on the upper sides of his smile. The same ones Terrance had.

  Fangs.

  “I’m sure Terrance will want to tell you all about our history, judging from what he said on the ride here.”

  “Ride from where?”

  “The library. He was exposed to excessive sunlight. Obviously, that’s not good for us. He passed out and they called. We had just started our shift and rushed over. I knew the moment I saw him that he was Kindred.”

  Kindred? My brain was reeling from all this, and my poor heart was in a state of shock.

  Caleb saw my expression and elaborated. “The Kindred are the extended vampire family. Anyway, we got him stabilized and he immediately said he had to get home, that he had something urgent going on.”

  I blushed at the thought that taking my virginity was something of urgency to Terrance.

  “He also said we needed to hurry because he had important news for the love of his life.”

  I felt a lump in my throat at those words. “Did he say…?”

  “Yes, he mentioned your name.”