Chapter 3

I spent months moving from place to place. I generally stayed in empty warehouses and office buildings when I could find them, but I’d occasionally spring for a ‘no tell’ motel. I pondered going home, but every time I thought of knocking on the front door, Robbie’s words came back to me.

What was I really going to say to my parents anyway?

I followed Robbie’s example, except I preferred women to feed on.

I’d generally jump on drunken people when they left bars. I hoped that their intoxication would help shield them from the shock of what I was about to do. I’d usually bite on their arms, figuring that if they did file some sort of report with the police that an arm wound would look less suspicious than a neck one.

While they were in their shocked and weakened state, I’d rummage through their purses or wallets and grab cash. Though I was living mostly in abandoned places, I still needed money for clothes and hotels.

I could feel myself growing stronger and eventually I woke up during the day when I was in an empty warehouse. Scared but curious, I stuck my hand into a beam of sunlight that shone through a broken window.

It was a slight tingle on my skin, but it didn’t hurt.

“Are you serious? Are you serious?” I screamed, basking in the warmth.

I sat down in the pool of sunlight. I don’t know exactly how long I was there, but I could eventually feel my skin begin to burn.

I moved into the shadows, disappointed but still excited at this new evolution.

I fed that night but the next day I wandered out into the normal daylight.

It really was like a new world. My senses were getting sharper and I could see and hear things that were unbelievable.

I took a bus to a new town that was significantly larger and set about to explore it.

I kept up the same routine, hiding, feeding and collecting money. A bigger city provided more and unique opportunities but I still felt rather nomadic.

Things were about to change.

I decided to try to up my game and stalk out a higher end place. Instead of hanging around college bars, I began to spend time near upscale hotels and restaurants. I figured that the people who went to these places were probably richer and I’d be more likely to hit a big score. You wouldn’t think that money was that important to a vampire, but we still had things we had to deal with just like anyone else if you didn’t want to spend your life living in a cave or moving from warehouse to warehouse.

I watched a posh bar for several weeks. I’d never taken anyone quite like this before, but I’d had enough experience that I felt pretty good about it. Finally, one night, I spied a man in a suit stumbling out of the bar alone and decided that tonight was the night. I followed him as he staggered his way down the sidewalk and eventually turned down an alley.

“Man, this is too perfect.” I thought to myself as I turned to follow.

The man was swaying from side to side like a zombie down the alley and I picked up my pace. I closed the gap between us and as I jumped onto him, he fell sideways at the last second. I succeeded in knocking him down but also fell onto the ground next to him. I quickly turned towards him as he rolled to the side.

He threw his hands up in a weak defensive move. We stared at each other for a moment and then I bared my fangs, preparing to strike.

“You’re a vampire?” He exclaimed, sitting upright.

I recoiled.

He was clearly either not as intoxicated as I thought, or an excellent, experienced drunk.

“What’s it like?” He asked, leaning towards me as he lowered his hands. “Uhm, it’s OK.” I stammered.

“Do you live forever?” He asked, his eyes opening wide with excitement.

“Not exactly, but you age really, really slowly.” I explained, stunned at having a conversation with someone I had tried to attack.

“Make me a vampire!” The man demanded.

“WHAT?” I exclaimed.

“I’ll give you a million dollars if you turn me.” He replied bluntly.

I fell back onto my ass, completely dazed at the turn of events.

“You’re drunk.” I stammered.

“Yeah I am, but I’m also rich. Come on, turn me and I’ll give you a million dollars.” The man repeated in a confident tone.

I stared at him silently in complete disbelief.

“Are you going to blow up in the sunlight?” He asked.

“No, but it’s not fun.” I replied automatically.

“I’m Mason. Come with me.” He said firmly, getting to his feet.

In a complete state of shock, I followed Mason several blocks before coming to a heavy metal set of double doors. Mason fished a ring of keys out of his pocket and opened them. We entered a huge warehouse full of boxes that were all covered in dust. Mason led me through the aisles until we came to a single door. The door had a keypad next to it and Mason entered a code.

“Come on. No one goes in here.” He said as he opened the door.

We entered a tiny office that was also covered in dust.

There was a couch and a small bathroom.

“I own this company. No one has been down here in a long time. No one will bother you. So, tell me everything.” Mason ordered, sitting in a chair.

I fell onto the couch.

“What do you want to know?” I asked.

“Everything.” He repeated.

I told him what I knew. I told him that blood and blood types were very important and how I fed. Mason seemed to be particularly interested in the aging process and how it worked.

I explained that you still aged, just very slowly. Mason nodded intently and seemed to be satisfied with that.

“Turn me. Turn me and I’ll give you a million dollars.” Mason said firmly.

“Why?” I asked.

“I don’t want to get old.” Mason said flatly.

“You’ll still get old, I think.” I replied.

“Yeah, but slower. So, you gonna do it?” He asked.

I pondered for a moment. The money sounded really, really nice and would be much welcomed and needed.

“Yes.” I nodded.

“Great. Stay here for a few days while I set things up.” Mason said, suddenly very businesslike.

I nodded again, unsure.

Mason got up and left.

I stayed in that room for several days. I realized that I didn’t have the code to the office, or the keys, so I was afraid to leave. The hunger was beginning to build and I wasn’t sure if Mason would ever return.

On the third day, I heard the metal door open.

“You still there?” Mason called out.

“Yeah.” I replied, getting up from the couch and opening the office door.

Mason was walking towards the office.

“It’s night time, come with me.” He said in a firm voice.

I got up and followed him out of the storage room. Outside there was a car waiting.

Mason and I climbed in and the driver took us a few blocks away. We got out and entered the lobby of what appeared to be an extremely expensive hotel. We got onto the elevator and shot upwards.

“I have an apartment here. No one will bother you. I’ve got it all set up.” Mason said as we exited.

Mason led me down the hall and opened a large door. Inside was a fully furnished apartment filled with extremely expensive looking furniture.

I noticed that all of the windows had been painted over.

“My accountant is ready.” Mason said, pointing to a man that I’d not noticed before, sitting at a desk in the corner.

I wandered over and sat down next to the man who opened a laptop.

He asked me for some information and then began to furiously type on the keyboard.

“We’re setting you up for an account in the Cayman Islands. No one will ask questions.” Mason said with a wave of his hand.

His accountant continued to type away on the keyboard for several minutes and then turned the laptop towards me.

“1 Million dollars. Here it is.” He said, pointing towards the screen. I leaned down and stared at the screen. My eyes opened wide.

There on the screen was something with my name and social security number on it, followed by a number with a lot of zeros behind it.

“Here is your ATM card. Your pin code is 6666. I suggest you change it quickly” The accountant said, handing me a credit card and then standing up.

“Thanks.” I stammered.

“Is there anything else?” He asked Mason.

“That’s all. Thanks.” Mason said.

The accountant nodded and walked out of the door that we just came through.

“I pay him a lot of money to do what I tell him to do and not ask questions.” Mason said.

“I see.” I nodded, not understanding at all.

“So, I have the fridge full of my blood type. I’m ready. Are you?” Mason asked me, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at me with an impatient gaze.

Mason’s transformation went a lot smoother than mine.

Perhaps it was because he was in better physical shape than I was.

Perhaps it was because he went into it willingly.

Regardless, I cut my finger and dropped some blood into his mouth. For the next hour, Mason writhed on the large bed before sitting upright.

“I feel different.” He announced.

We spent the next several days feeding on Mason’s impressive blood stockpile. Interestingly, Mason adjusted to his new life extremely well. He almost treated it like a new haircut instead of a major life change. He peppered me with questions about powers and abilities, but I had very few answers. I told him what I knew but that didn’t seem to satisfy him.

“So, if we eat people, does that make us stronger?” He asked one day.

“Only if they are your blood type, which you already have plenty of.”

“Yeah true. But it’s getting boring. What’s the point of being a vampire if you just sit around and suck cold blood out of a bag all day long?” Mason replied angrily.

I just shrugged.

The next night Mason announced that he was going out. I offered to go with him, but he declined.

“I’ll figure it out.” He said with a wave of his hand.

I just shrugged again and leaned back into the couch.

Mason returned a few hours later, his shirt and face were covered in blood.

“Are you OK?” I asked, sitting up.

“Man that was great! That’s so much better than drinking shit out of a bag! I feel fucking amazing! I can’t wait to go out again!” Mason exclaimed.

The next night, Mason went out again.

This time, however, a few minutes after he left, the door flew open. I jumped up from the couch to see an attractive, well-dressed woman run into the apartment.

“Where is she?” The woman screamed.

“Where is who? Who are you?” I exclaimed.

“I just saw him leave. I know that there’s some bitch in here somewhere.” She replied.

“Uhm, it’s just me.” I shrugged, very confused.

The woman ran into the bedroom. I could hear her throwing open doors and screaming for someone to come out. Finally, she came back into the living room to face me.

“Is he gay?” She asked, staring at me.

“Is who gay?” I asked.

“Mason, you moron. You’ve been in here for days. Are you two fucking? Having an affair?” She asked.

“Uh, nope. I’m straight.” I stammered.

“Sure you are. No one pays someone else a million dollars just to sit around and talk. What the fuck have you two been up to for the last week? I’m sure you’re just sitting around eating pizza and talking about your feelings, right?” She sneered as she stomped around the corner towards the kitchen.

“Uhm, no. Not really. Don’t open that!” I exclaimed as she reached for the door of the refrigerator.

“Why not?” She shot back as she yanked the door open.

The refrigerator was still filled with units of blood.

“Oh Holy Mother of God.” The woman mumbled, stepping backwards from the refrigerator and crossing herself.

“It’s not what it looks like.” I said, walking towards her with my arms up.

She slowly turned towards me.

“You guys are devil worshipers, aren’t you?” She asked, her eyes open wide.

“Huh? What? No.” I recoiled.

“You’re some sort of devil priest and he’s paying you to contact the devil for him. What else is all this blood for? You two are freaks. Where did you get this? Who did you kill? Fuck it, I’m calling the police!” She yelled.

She was trapped between me and the counter, but charged at me full speed. Unable to think of anything better to do, I grabbed her around the shoulders and threw her on the ground.

“Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me! Holy Mother Full of Grace, protect me from...” She started to chant as I walked towards her.

“Shut up already and relax!” I snarled as I climbed on top of her.

With that, the woman was suddenly silent.

“What’s wrong with your teeth?” She asked softly.

“Uhm. Uhmm.” I babbled.

“And your eyes. They look funny all of a sudden.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” I asked.

“They are yellow. They weren’t a second ago. What are you? Are you a demon?” She whispered.

“No, I’m not a demon. I don’t think.” My voice trailed off, stunned by the turn of events.

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this. You’re a vampire? That can’t be...” She said in a voice so soft that no human could have heard.

I stared down at her. All of the fight and fear had gone out of her body and had been replaced with wonder.

I nodded slightly.

“Is Mason a vampire too?” She asked.

I nodded again.

She stared at me for several long seconds.

Suddenly her face clenched up in anger.

“That bastard! That fucking bastard!” She screamed, loud enough to make me recoil.

“What? What?” I yelled, falling backwards off of her body in surprise.

“He got turned into a fucking vampire and didn’t bother to tell me about it. I bet that bastard was going to leave me. That’s why he’s been moving money around. That motherfucker! That fucker!” She yelled as she climbed to her feet.

“I don’t know anything about that. He paid me to turn him and help him feed.” I babbled.

“Where is he now?” The woman demanded with her hands on her hips.

“He’s out hunting. He got bored of the cold blood in the fridge.” I shrugged.

“Can you turn me?” The woman asked suddenly, turning towards me.

“Yeah.”

“Do you know how to be strong?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you make me stronger than him?”

“I don’t know. Probably.”

The woman stared at me intently and then crossed her arms over her chest.

“I’ll give you 10 million dollars to turn me and stay with me until I’m stronger than he is. Can you do that?” She asked in an extremely familiar businesslike tone.

I recoiled in shock again.

When I came to my wits a second later, I nodded.

“Good. I’ll be back in 3 days. I’ll know when he leaves; I’ve had the place watched for a while. I also have your bank account information so I’ll get the money wired to you. Be ready in three days.” The woman said and then began to walk towards the door.

“Who are you?” I asked.