Chapter 2

When I woke up, it was dark outside.

Both figurative and literally.

I was lying on something hard and cold. I rolled over slowly, finding that to be very difficult.

I slowly realized that I was inside a huge concrete drainage tube.

“Hey, are you OK? You’ve been out for a while.” The soft voice asked.

I looked over my shoulder to see the blond woman staring at me intently.

“Uhm, I think so? Where are we?” I asked.

“There’s a storm drain under the hill. I’ve, uhm, been here for a little bit. You rolled down the hill. It scared the hell out of me. What’s your name?” She asked, staring at me.

I sat up a little.

“Scott.”

“Hey, I’m Jennifer.” She said, giving me a sweet smile.

“Hey. So, what are you doing in a drain? Aren’t you too old for hide and seek?” I asked, sounding a bit more accusingly than I had intended to.

Jennifer’s smile dropped a little.

“Yeah I am. I needed someplace to go.” She said softly, looking away from me.

It was then that I saw the bruise on the side of her face.

“What happened to you?” I gasped.

“It’s nothing. I just needed to leave.”

“Dad?” I asked.

“Boyfriend. Brian. He was drunk. He didn’t mean to.” She replied softly.

I opened my mouth and then shut it. I didn’t know anything about domestic abuse or drunk boyfriends. She hadn’t asked for my help but had offered hers.

“So what happened to do? Did you just fall down the hill? I don’t recognize you. What are you doing here?” She asked, turning towards me.

“Uhm, I got kidnapped. I just broke out and got away.” I said bluntly. I didn’t have the energy to try to make up a story.

Jennifer’s eyes got big.

“Are you serious? Who kidnapped you?” She exclaimed.

“A woman, Liz.”

“The pretty girl with the long red hair?” Jennifer asked.

“Uh huh, fucking crazy bitch. She tied me up, cut up my chest and bit me like a fucking vampire.” I said.

“WHAT?” Jennifer exclaimed.

“Yeah check it out.” I said, yanking my shirt up.

Jennifer looked at my chest and then raised an eyebrow.

I followed her gaze and looked down.

The cuts on my chest were just faint red lines.

I dropped my shirt and put my hand on my neck where she had bitten me.

The skin was just a little tender, but wasn’t bleeding.

“You sure you’re OK? You do have some weird burns on your arms.” Jennifer asked.

I looked at my forearms. They were still a deep red, but were no longer bubbling.

“It’s been a really fucked up day.”

“Tell me about it. It’s just another Thursday for me.” Jennifer sighed.

“Uhm, don’t you mean Sunday?” I asked.

“Nope, I’m entirely sure that it’s Thursday.”

I’d been at Liz’s house for almost a week.

I stared off into space in shock as Jennifer rummaged through a backpack.

“Want some water?” She asked, holding out a bottle to me.

“Yeah, thanks. Thanks a lot.” I said, taking it from her.

As I poured it into my mouth, I was both thankful and confused. Something about it just didn’t quite taste the same. But after several days without anything in my system other than that red shit, I was happy for anything.

I handed Jennifer the bottle back and continued to ponder.

“Was I actually a vampire?” I asked myself.

“Do you need to go someplace? Home?” Jennifer asked with concern in her voice.

“Uhm, not really. Not yet. I just need to try to get my head on straight. What about you?” I asked.

“No, I don’t really have any place to go.” Jennifer said with a somber voice.

“You can come crash with me while you figure it out.”

“Really?” Jennifer asked, perking up a little. She turned towards me, her big blue eyes large as she stared in wonder at my gesture.

“Sure.” I said, smiling a little and giving her a small nod.

“That’s awesome! Thanks!” Jennifer’s smile lit up the dark pipe.

“You’re welcome.”

“It’s pretty late. I’m really beat. Can we just crash out for a while? I don’t think it’s smart to walk in the dark. We are kind of out in the middle of nowhere.” Jennifer asked.

“Sure.”

Jennifer lay back against the wall of the pipe and crossed her arms over her chest.

I’d been asleep for a while, so I wasn’t tired. The sky grew darker as time ticked by, but I discovered that I was still able to see my surroundings. I could clearly see out of the end of the pipe and into the woods. I could see squirrels running around and leaves swaying in the night breeze. I looked to the side and could see Jennifer’s chest heaving.

I stared at her more intently and realized that not only could I see her, but if I focused, I could hear her breathing.

The harder that I stared, the more I could hear.

I heard a strange wooshing sound, like water in a small pipe.

Confused, I stared at Jennifer more closely.

I could see her neck pulse.

It was pulsing in time with the sound I was hearing.

I was hearing her blood pumping.

My own heart rate began to increase as I found that I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her neck.

“What the fuck.” I muttered.

Jennifer jerked a bit as if she was having a bad dream.

I froze.

I sucked in a breath and held it.

Jennifer’s body slid down the tube and came to a rest on me.

At first, my eyes drifted down the front of her shirt and onto the tops of her cleavage. But just as fast, my eyes moved back up to her neck.

I was unable to look away from the pulsing vein that ran along her collarbone.

“What’s happening? What’s happening?” I mumbled, still staring at Jennifer’s neck.

I could feel the hunger inside me growing again.

It felt like I’d not eaten in a month.

I tried to pull away but I was afraid of waking Jennifer up.

The pain inside me continued to grow.

I looked away.

I felt like I was back in Liz’s house, tied to her bed.

I could see Liz’s face, grinning down at me as she held the red jar over my head.

I hungered for it.

Whatever it was, made the hunger go away.

I thought about baseball.

I thought about my friends.

I tried to sing a song in my head

But no matter what I did, I couldn’t ignore the pain inside me.

Jennifer let out a small gasp and I turned towards her.

She had tilted her head away from me, exposing more of her neck.

I couldn’t help myself anymore.

I just couldn’t.

I tried to convince myself for years that I’d blacked out. The reality is, I probably tried to make myself forget what happened.

Regardless, when I came to my senses, I was on top of a limp Jennifer and I was covered in blood.

I jumped back against the other side of the pipe away from her. She fell to the other side, not moving.

“No. No. No. No. NO! NO! NO! What the fuck did I do?” I screamed, though inside I already had the answer.

I dropped down next to her and put my hand on the bloody mess that used to be her neck, frantically trying to feel for a pulse.

I didn’t know any first aid, but I knew that there wouldn’t be one.

“FUCK! FUCK! Oh FUCK! Oh FUCK! OH FUCK!!” I yelled, sitting up as high as the ceiling of the pipe would allow me to and crawling towards the entrance. I jumped out and stood up, stretching my body.

I was mentally in shock, but my body had never felt more alive.

I scooped up some water from the ditch and threw it over my face in an attempt to wash the blood off.

Then, I turned and ran up the hill.

While I seem to remember that the hill I rolled down was extremely steep, I didn’t seem to have any problems running up it.

It seemed like I was jumping as I took huge steps up the muddy slope.

I made it to the top and found myself on a dirt road. I took just a moment to catch my breath and looked down. I was covered in dirt and a sticky liquid. I shuttered and began to run down the road.

I knew I was trying to run away from Jennifer, but it was also like I was trying to run away from the stain on my shirt.

It didn’t matter.

I ran.

I ran fast.

The tree line around me was a blur as I raced down the road in the dark.

Eventually, two lights began to glow in the distance.

They rapidly grew brighter.

I could hear the sound of an old, beat up engine from much further away than I should have.

The sound got louder and the lights got brighter.

I could smell the exhaust of a car that needed a lot of work.

I ran towards it.

I moved to the middle of the road and waved to ensure that the driver would see me. I didn’t know what they would think of my condition but surely someone would help me.

I stopped running and paused to catch my breath as the vehicle stopped a few feet in front of me.

“Hey!” I called out with a wave.

“Hey asshole. Have you seen Jennifer?” a slurring, drunken male voice came from behind the windshield.

“Brian?” I called out.

I could hear the car being put into park and then the door opened.

“Where is she at, asshole? Where is she?” A tall, broad chested man climbed out of the car and stumbled towards me.

“Are you Brian?” I asked.

“Where did she? Where is she?” Brian yelled, clearly wasted.

“Did you hit her?” I asked, growing angry.

“That’s not your fucking problem. Tell me where she is or I’m gonna be your problem.” He growled, rushing towards me.

I curled my hand into a fist as he approached me.

I’d never been in a fight before.

I’d never hit anyone before.

I’d never been hit before.

But, I could feel a rage building up inside me that I’d never experienced before. As Brian approached, I swung at his face.

He was taller than I was, but it still connected. Not a very solid hit, but strangely it had enough force to throw him off his balance.

“You’re dead now.” Brian yelled as he turned back towards me.

I swung again and connected once more.

This time, Brian stumbled and nearly fell over.

“You’re so gonna die. You’re gonna die.” Brian said.

As he began to turn towards me, I swung again. This time he was low enough to the ground that I connected with a solid hit.

As my fist connected with his chin, I felt something pop and heard a loud CRUNCH sound.

Brian fell onto the ground, groaning. I stood over him and knelt on his chest. I stared at his face for a moment and realized that his jaw was hanging at an extremely unnatural position.

I began to hit him over and over again.

He thrashed and screamed for a few moments as he tried to get away but soon stopped moving.

I paused for a moment to stare at the red pulp of a face that he had left. Blood was pouring out of his mouth and nose. I hit him one more time, knocking his face sideways.

He didn’t move, or make a sound.

I stared at his neck intently. A second later, I could hear his blood pumping and hear his slow, labored breathing.

Still caught in my rage, I clamped my mouth down onto his neck.

I was driving down the dirt road as fast as I could get Brian’s truck to go.

After I’d sucked down what was left of his blood, I rolled him down the embankment and jumped into his car.

As I drove, I pondered what I’d just done.

I’d killed a man.

He deserved it.

I’d also probably killed a woman who didn’t deserve it.

The dirt road eventually turned into a paved one.

The paved road turned into a better paved road.

I slowed down to a reasonable speed as soon as I saw my first passing car.

From the condition of the buildings and roads, I assumed I was far out in the middle of nowhere. It was still the middle of the night and I was beginning to come down from my adrenaline high.

I was slowly moving back into panic mode.

I was in a stolen car and covered in blood.

I didn’t know where I was or what I was going to do next.

Brian had a spare shirt in his truck and I’d changed into it, but I still looked like I’d been in one hell of a fight.

I pulled into a dimly lit dollar type store and parked. I’d managed to hang onto my wallet and I knew I had some cash left over from the concert. I got out of the truck and wandered inside.

The elderly woman behind the counter eyeballed me intently.

“Are you OK son?” She asked, watching me.

“Rough night.”

“You hit a deer or something?”

“Dog. Dirt road a few miles back.” I stammered. I’d grown up in the city and had no concept of hitting animals in a car.

“You need some help?”

“No, just to clean up. Maybe a shirt?”

“Bathroom is in the back left.” She replied, giving me a sweet smile.

I nodded and walked towards the bathroom.

My appearance in the mirror stunned me.

Not only was my face and hair covered in blood, but my eyes were dark.

Almost black.

Like Liz’s when I’d met her at the concert.

I splashed water on my face in an attempt to scrub the blood off. The water in the sink was almost as red as the blood that covered my hand.

I scrubbed my knuckles and face until I almost looked normal. I slicked my hair back, sucked in a deep breath, and exited the bathroom.

“Shirts are over there.” The woman pointed.

I walked over to a small rack of shirts and grabbed the first semi normal thing that I could find. I picked up a bottle of water and tossed some bills on the counter.

“Thank you. Keep the rest.” I smiled.

“Good luck. Sure you don’t need any help?” She asked.

“No, it will be OK.” I nodded and then exited the store.

I wished that she could help me.

I wished that ANYONE could help me.

I just didn’t know what the hell was going on or who I could trust.

I got back into Brian’s truck and continued towards the city. I didn’t have much cash left on me and Brian’s truck was running dangerously low on gas. I drank the entire bottle of water in one go but realized that it didn’t particularly seem to satisfy me the way that it should.

As I drove down the dark highway, I noticed a rather large man about my age walking out of what looked like an abandoned warehouse. I slowed down and saw him head towards a late model car.

My mind raced.

“Was I really going to steal this guy’s car?”

“Did I have a choice?”

“Just what the hell was going on anyway?”

I pulled over to the other side of the warehouse and parked. I quickly climbed out of the car and began to run towards the man.

I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t think that I was big enough to be able to bully this guy into giving me his keys. So I figured that I’d just jump on him from behind and grab them.

I picked up speed, amazed that he had not heard me and turned around yet. When I got within a few feet of him, I launched myself into the air. As I flew towards him, the man jumped to the side with amazing speed and agility.

I let out a gasp of shock as I landed in the gravel parking lot.

“What the hell are you doing?” The man exclaimed.

“Oh, uhm. Sorry. I thought you were someone else.” I stammered, rolling over.

“Whatever man. You thought I was a meal. You know that vamps can’t eat other vamps you fucking dipshit.” He replied.

I recoiled in shock.

“What did you say?” I stammered.

“Come on man, I smelled you from a mile away. I thought you might be a friend trying to fuck with me, but I’ve never seen you before. So, you’re hungry and trying to get a meal. But, why would you try to jump me? That makes no sense. You can’t feed on me.” The guy replied with a completely even tone.

“Feed? Vampire? Is this real? Is this really, really happening?” I asked, feeling the waves of shock and panic overtake me as I sat up.

“Dude, I can smell the blood on you. What’s wrong with you?”

I finally broke down.

Big, chest heaving sobs overtook me as tears rolled down my chest.

“What is going on? What the fuck is going on?” I cried.

The man knelt down next to me.

“What the fuck is going on with you man? What’s your deal?” He asked.

“I don’t understand what’s happening. I just want to go home.” I sobbed as I looked up at him.

“You know you can’t do that. You know ... Oh God. Man. You’re a newbie, aren’t you? When did you get turned?” The man gasped, slapping his hand over his mouth.

“Turned?”

“Dude, you’re a vampire. Surely you know that right? You’re fresh off the bus, huh?”

“I’m a WHAT?” I asked.

“You’re a vampire. So am I. I can smell fresh blood on you so I know you’ve fed recently. Surely you didn’t think that was normal, did you?”

“I ... I blacked out.” I stammered.

The man suppressed an eye roll.

“Sure you did. I ‘blacked out’ my first time also.” He replied as he made quote marks in the air.

“I really don’t know what’s going on. Will you help me?” I asked, a feeling empty desperation overtaking me.

The man let out a heavy sigh.

“Sure. I know what it’s like to not know what’s going on. Come on, the Sun will be up soon and if you are a newbie, I’m sure you’re not strong enough to handle that yet.” He said, offering me his hand.

I took it and lifted myself up.

“I’m Scott.”

“Robbie. Welcome to the vampire world.”

Robbie drove me to his apartment in the city. It was in a fairly shitty part of town. Robbie explained that he did that on purpose since his neighbors didn’t ask a lot of questions.

“Money is a little tight also. It’s hard to get a job as a vampire these days, even though I can go out in the Sun for a little bit.” He said as we walked up to his door.

As with Liz’s house, Robbie’s windows were blacked out. I fell onto his couch, feeling the first bits of safety in several days.

“So what happened to you man?” Robbie asked.

I recounted my adventure with Liz. Robbie nodded as I spoke.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve seen her around at the clubs. She’s hot, but she gives me the creeps.” Robbie shuddered.

I briefly told Robbie about my run in with Jennifer, skipping over the part about feeding on her, then my fight with Brian.

“So what’s your story? What the fuck is going on anyway?” I asked.

Robbie’s story was pretty similar to my own. Robbie had met a girl at a vampire live action role play event in 1996, ironically enough. Robbie explained that many of the people who attended the events were actually vampires.

“Easy to hide in plain sight I guess.” Robbie laughed.

There was plenty of neck biting and blood drinking going on at the event, but apparently one of the real vampires had gotten too drunk.

“That’s pretty hard to do actually. Our bodies don’t work the same way. We can get drunk, but it takes a lot. She must have been pounding them away.” Robbie said.

At some point during the night, Robbie ingested real vampire blood. As with me, his body shut down as he changed. Though he was in a room with hundreds of people, everyone thought it was part of the show. He lay there on the floor convulsing while people watched on.

There had been enough rumors around the vampire LARP community about real vampires that Robbie had an inclining as to what had happened. I was impressed with how well he took the transformation.

Robbie had made his way home. It was the early days of the internet and Robbie had taken to the new computer age very rapidly. He was already a member of several underground vampire bulletin boards as part of the role play community, so he started to dig.

Eventually he made his way into a group of people who claimed to be actual vampires. There he explored what they called history and tried to separate fact from fiction. In those depths of the infant internet, Robbie began to understand his world.