King's Blood: Vampire Lust (A Serial Novel, Part 3)

by P. J. Day

  Holli26: I mean we don’t have to hang out, but I have never been there before. I won’t bother you if you don’t want me to, I know you’re busy.

  JKing1131: No! I want to hang out with you! My schedule looks too busy in the evenings for obvious reasons, but if you can hang in there a little longer than normal at night, we’ll go out and have a late dinner or hang at the hotel bar or something.

  Holli26: Thanks, Jack. That’s nice of you. I can’t wait. I don’t mind hanging around and checking out the sights until you get back.

  JKing1131: You won’t be disappointed. The city is incredible!

  Holli26: Jack, there has been something I wanted to tell you. You have some time?

  JKing1131: Sure...

  Holli26: I’m really looking forward to spending some time with you. You seem pretty wise for someone your age and I like talking to you...hearing you out.

  JKing1131: Thanks.

  Holli26: I really liked spending time with you, and you have some pretty wonderful things to say about life. Important things. I haven’t met anyone else that expresses these things quite like you.

  JKing1131: Like what?

  Holli26: Remember when you started giving me that back rub on the bluff? We talked about experiencing Halley’s Comet in 1986 as children. You talked about it much more vividly that I ever could. You remember the faces watching it so lucidly and their specific reactions, and how you saw a really old man with a tear in his eye thinking that it would be probably be the last time seeing it. You were just a kid, Jack!

  JKing1131: Yeah, well, you know...

  Holli26: You’re an old soul. Embrace it. That is what makes me want to be around you more. I want to experience life through your eyes.

  JKing1131: Wow, that feels like a lot of pressure...

  Holli26: No...no...don’t feel pressured. I wasn’t trying to put pressure on you to perform or anything. You seem like a special person, that’s all. I hope I wasn’t too forward, I’m sorry.

  JKing1131: No, it’s okay, Holly. Those were some extremely kind words. Honestly, I don’t know what to say. Hey, just get down here. We’ll keep talking.

  Holli26: Okay.

  JKing1131: You can also call me on my cell. I don’t know how your phone will be set up when you get here but if it’s an international call, dial 001 852 3 then the number or just dial 3 and the number if you are here and your service is local. My number is 543-7654.

  Holli26: Okay, I know you are about to go to sleep, and I have some proofs I need to go over. I’ll call you tomorrow when I arrive.

  JKing1131: Thanks for the kind words, Holly. We’ll talk tomorrow.

  Holli26: Good night.

  JKing1131: Good night!

  Holli26 is offline...

  I sat back, pushed off the table with my feet, lifting the front legs of my chair as I put my arms on the back of my head, connecting my fingers. Thoughts raced through my mind. I thought Holly really liked me, just how much, though? Enough to accept me for the freak that I am or just enough to be enamored with 150 years of human wisdom packaged in a body of a perceived 30-year-old male? These were questions that were better left answered over dinner once I got the chance for some free time.

  I noticed a message from roe7163 before I chatted with Holly. Probably another bot trying to get my credit card information, but I wasn’t sure. Sometimes people change their screen names to avoid being detected by someone they no longer want to converse with. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t the latter.

  roe7163 (msg sent @ 12:37pm): Jack, meet me at the “Ngo Ngo Nei cafe” on 103 Austin Rd. It is important...come alone. I know who you are. Be there at midnight. It’s open late. I’ll be wearing sunglasses and a San Francisco 49ers hat.

  JKing1131: Who is this? Do I know you? What do you mean, you know who I am?

  roe7163 is offline message will be retrieved by recipient.

  As soon as I realized there was no one on the other end, a horrible possibility overtook my serenity that Holly had temporarily struck me with. Had Clark Kent been exposed? I had a bad feeling that my careless nature at the club had come full circle and bitten me in the ass. If this person knew what I was up to with my job, I was fucked, and if they thought I was some sort of monster, I was equally fucked.

  What if I was being followed? What if a group of masked thugs burst into my room and dragged me away to be locked away for good? What if a gang of government strongmen kidnapped Ted and threatened to stick leeches onto his balls unless I showed up and turned myself in?

  Maybe I shouldn’t worry to the point of the worst-case scenario. I should put it off just like all the other things in life that gave me anxiety. Avoidance was the ultimate coping mechanism. This is why I had a stack of parking tickets as tall as my couch. I know sooner or later they would all go away into the memory hole. My name would eventually disappear from their databases. Within a hundred years or so, a glitch would render me invisible. That is what was so good about being a vampire: time is your friend.

  I didn’t return library books, I didn’t pay my credit cards, and I purposely got caught shoplifting on security cameras. You know why? Because I outlived every statute of limitation that mere mortals put into their ever-changing legal system, and also most video cameras still used good old-fashioned film so they couldn’t see me anyway. Hence, no evidence.

  Okay, I’ll be honest; I’m not that much of an asshole. I don’t really do those things, but I would be lying to you if I told you I haven’t thought about it at least once. Thought crime was my secret mistress.

  Dammit! I didn’t know what to do. I had too many people I cared about with me here in Hong Kong and I also had the weight of an entire company on my shoulders. There was absolutely no way I could neglect this person’s request to see me tonight. I’d make time to swing by. If I recognized the person I’d have a chat; if I didn’t I’d play dumb—what am I saying?! I’d play dumb either way. The burden of proof was on them. I needed to sleep, I needed to stay sharp. I was well fed. This could get out of hand.

  Chapter Two

  “Tink, tink, tink, tink.” A slight metallic sound woke me up from my deep slumber. It sounded as if someone was knocking on the doorknob with a key or a sharp metallic object. I lifted myself from my messy bed; clothes, belts, and loose change were strewn about the sheets. I checked to see if I looked decent enough to answer the door. I realized I was still wearing the same bloodied and tattered clothes from the night before.

  The clock said 2:00 p.m. Our meeting was still four hours away. My head felt extremely heavy, my vision blurred. I rubbed both my eyes with my hands. My eyes were sticky with goop, not your average human goop, but the gray, stringy, vampire kind.

  My laptop was still on, and the Wi-Fi was down again. A little exclamation point covered the bars that showed signal strength. I was afraid I had to make another trip to the internet cafe, wasting away valuable time in the process.

  As I got up to plug the laptop back into the charger, I felt a slight sting on the back of my head. The inch-wide separation of the room’s curtains let in just enough sunlight, burning the little hairs on the back of my neck. I closed the small gap quickly.

  “Coming...hold on!” I yelled, as I fought through the minute laser stream of sun that peered through like a shiny line of hate and pain. I placed my carry-on luggage against the curtains, making sure they didn’t open up again.

  “TINK, TINK, TINK!” The knock was louder this time, the doorknob shook violently. I thought it was going to pop out of its socket.

  “Can you wait, please? Can’t you knock on the door like a normal human being?” I asked, as I made my way to the desk.

  I combed my hair and cleaned the dried blood off my forehead with one of those small towelettes that looked like the ones the wait staff gets you at those barbecue chains.

  I opened the door ever so slightly, carefully peering through it. I had to make sure it wasn’t someone who was sent to drag me away or have me killed. My senses and awa
reness were heightened after last night.

  “Yes?” I asked, expecting to see a stranger’s face at eye level.

  “Are you Jack King?” The voice was at a higher pitch than I expected.

  I looked down. There stood a boy no more than 8 years of age, wearing a blue bubble jacket, a red cap, and a nicely ironed set of khakis. His stumpy black shoes gave his feet a caricature-like appearance. His jet-black hair partially covered his ears. He looked quite pale, but we still didn’t share the same complexion. It was a healthy pale. His eyes were black and large. His nose was slightly large in proportion to his fine, facial features.

  “Yes,” I answered. “How do you know my name?” I asked with a slight, uncomfortable chuckle.

  “No time to discuss details. I need to enter your room.”

  The boy pushed the door and my slight resistance had no effect as he entered. He was particularly strong for someone his size.

  He entered with a tremendous sense of urgency. He stopped, mid-gait, and began to scan the room very carefully. His head cranked left to right like an automaton.

  I opened the door wide open, making sure that anyone who walked by could see that I was the one being disturbed by the boy rather than the other way around.

  I turned to the boy, “Where are your parents?”

  “They’re downstairs,” he said without looking at me, his concentration unfazed. He seemed rather fidgety.

  He then proceeded to get on all fours and began to search under my bed.

  “I’m going to call the front desk. You shouldn’t barge into stranger’s rooms. I’m getting a hold of your parents. What is your name?”

  He continued to reach under my bed. I briefly made eye contact with the corner of his eye.

  “My name is Milton. You can call but you won’t get through.”

  I picked up the phone and placed it to my ear. There was only a busy signal.

  “What the hell is going on? Who are you?” I asked, as he stood up and proceeded to the bathroom.

  “It’s not here, is it?”

  “What’s not here?” I asked, following the boy.

  He swiftly opened the shower curtain, forcefully detaching three of its rings from the bar.

  “The vampire,” he answered, as he turned around gazing at me with his cold, dead, pair of soulless eyes. He had one of those cliché stares that you would see in every horror movie made since The Ring.

  “Kid, are you all right? Are you schizophrenic or something?”

  Milton pushed me out of the way, again displaying his freakish strength. He then walked toward the carry-on bag that was leaning up against the curtains.

  “No...no...no! Milton, don’t you think about grabbing the bag!” I yelled, lunging at him, hoping to stop him from letting the mid-afternoon sunlight into the room.

  Milton grabbed the bag and opened the curtains with clear intent. The sunlight came into a room like a blazing, golden fog. All the dusty particulates floating in the room became visible in an instant as the sunlight highlighted their chaotic trajectories.

  “You little fucker!” I yelled, shielding myself from the blinding light.

  “What are you so afraid of, Jack? You are not who I’m looking for...it’s just the sun,” said Milton. With his face cloaked, only his silhouette was visible as he stood in front of the window with the radiant sun behind him.

  “I’m a vampire, Milton! Close the curtains!”

  “No, you’re not, stop being such a wuss. Stop shielding yourself!”

  I slowly peered through my arms, which I used to protect myself from the intense glare. For the first time, I saw the Kowloon skyline in full radiance, against a sun-soaked backdrop. The water in the bay displayed small waves that resembled small, shiny, metallic ripples. It was gorgeous. I was mesmerized.

  “This is beautiful...the shadows. I have never seen shadows like these before,” I said to Milton, slowly walking up to the window, my eyes slightly squinted.

  Milton stood behind me. I could see his reflection in the window. He looked confused.

  “What are you talking about? Are you drunk? High on drugs? Have you been in a coma?”

  I turned to him, “No...no...I’m fine. I think I had a bad dream.”

  “Who falls asleep in the afternoon in a hotel room, are you doing meth? Anyway, you need to help me look for the vampire. I think there is one roaming around in the hotel,” he said, his voice filled with determination. “I interviewed plenty of the hotel guests and a lady on your floor said she saw a pasty, blood-soaked weirdo go into your room this morning.”

  I continued to look outside the window, surprised that I wasn’t affected. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There I stood looking at all of Hong Kong in full color. The bay had a green tint to it. For the longest time, I thought the ocean was blue. Blue-ish green anyway. But wow, it was spectacular!

  “So, she saw a vampire come into my room this morning, huh?” I said, continuing to be hypnotized by the world outside.

  I turned around and walked toward my bed. I continued to stare outside the window as I sat down. I decided to patronize Milton a bit. “I’ve been here all morning and afternoon and didn’t see a vampire walk into my room. Are you a vampire hunter? Vampires are dangerous, you know.”

  Milton walked toward me. His eyes were fixated on the carpet as he made his way to the bed. He sat next to me and sighed, “No, I’m not a vampire hunter. I’m a vampire doctor. I can cure vampires of vampirism.”

  I opened my eyes wide, feigning surprise. “So, you can cure vampires? How so? Did you go to some sort of vampire medical school?” I asked, giving Milton a playful smile.

  “This is not some sort of joke, Jack. You worked with someone who could do the same thing I could. I read about you in medical journals.”

  Milton stood up from the bed. He walked toward the door of the hotel room.

  “What do you mean, medical journals? You’re like eight years old! You should be reading comic books! Who gives medical journals to eight-year-old boys?”

  Milton turned around and looked into my eyes. I felt slight judgment from his cold stare. He clearly didn’t appreciate my patronizing.

  “Have you ever heard of Dr. Wilfredo Nunez?” he asked, his bubble jacket preventing him from completely crossing his arms.

  “What about him?” I implored with indignation, taken aback at the mere mention of Dr. Nunez.

  “You were his assistant in the journals. You know how to cure them, too. The vampire in the morning was your patient. But you don’t want to cure vampires. You’re an asshole!” yelled Milton.

  “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about, kid. You need to go back to your parents. Leave my room now!” I barked, a slight quiver of panic filled my voice.

  The boy was unfazed at my sudden demand. He slowly turned his head and eyes toward my desk. He calmly walked to where my laptop was, and snatched my wallet like a freak-show ninja. He ran out the door in an instant. I hesitated just a bit and was surprised that he would do such a thing. I ran out of the room and screamed at the boy, “Milton, you get back here right now!”

  As I sprinted after him, I tripped over a small crease in the carpet. I landed stomach first onto the floor, biting my lower lip in the process. I tasted a little bit of blood in my mouth and immediately pressed my tongue on the inside of my lower lip. A metallic taste resonated all over my taste buds.

  I got off the ground and ran toward the end of our floor. Luckily, Milton didn’t make a left in the hallway where the elevator and stairs were. Instead, he made a right where only six rooms faced each other. There was a window at the end of the hallway, but it seemed as if it had been sealed shut.

  “Milton! I know you are in one of these rooms!”

  The door to my left suddenly opened. I jumped up a bit as I saw a man’s head pop out of the door.

  “Sir, quiet down, please! I’m bloody tired! I just got in from my flight!” said the hotel guest, in an Australian accent. He had a wea
thered face, with deep wrinkles ingrained in his tanned skin.

  “I’m really sorry...I didn’t mean to...” I took a deep breath and gathered myself. “Excuse me; have you seen a boy anywhere? Wearing a baseball cap?” I asked the perturbed guest.

  “No!” yelled the man, as he shut the door shaking the walls in the small hallway.

  I stood still and scanned the rest of the doors. They all were closed shut except for one. The last door on the left was slightly opened. I walked up to it and gave it a couple of light knocks.

  “Excuse me? Is anyone in there, Hello?”

  I waited a few seconds for an answer. I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching me. I didn’t want to arouse any suspicion before peering into another guest’s room. I put the palm of my hand against the door and instantly felt an extreme cold that ran through my hand and up my arm, stopping a few inches below my shoulder. I slowly peeked through the opening with my right eye; I saw darkness and nothing else. I instantly felt the cold that had enveloped the door instantly strike my eye like a frozen scalpel. I immediately closed my right eye and backed away. “Milton!” I yelled into the room, not giving a shit if the decrepit Aussie popped his nasty neck out from his room again.

  The Aussie opened the door again. “Listen, you fuckface! I asked you politely to stop yelling. Do you want me to call security?” He paused. “You know what? Fuck that! I’m going to kick your pasty American ass!”

  “Not this shit again,” I whispered to myself. I stood straight up, with my chest slightly puffed and confronted the old leather face. He quickly centered his body and in an exaggerated manner, swelled his chest as well. His tattooed arms lay rigidly at his side, veins popping from his neck. This old bastard was assuredly tough, but I knew he was no match for my supernatural strength. The only thought that raced through my mind was, “How would I stop myself from killing him in an instant if he suddenly lunged at me?”