Chapter 2: A Vampire's First Kill

His head was screaming. It hurt more than anything he'd ever felt in his entire life, but the pain wasn't limited to his head. It seemed like every bone in his body was screaming at him in an intense and utter hatred for its own existence.

How long have I been out? he managed to think, and that's when he realized that his body wasn't the only thing screaming. He was screaming too. He forced himself to shut up and started trying desperately to force the pain into the deeper regions of his own consciousness.

It's about time you woke up, he heard his mistress say. But she hadn't said it out loud. He wasn't hearing her through his ears. He looked around, and sure enough, he was alone in the cave. And he noticed more than just that. The lantern was out, his flashlight was off, and yet he could still see almost as well as if it were daylight.

"Where are you?" he asked her.

Oh ... out and about. It's nice to have my freedom again and I owe that to you Jerry.

Jerry got up and onto his feet and doing that brought the screaming pain back to him. That will fade soon enough. Dying's a bitch Jerry but be glad you were unconscious during the worst of it.

Dying? he thought back to her. I'm dead? I don't feel dead.

That's why they call it un-dead Jerry. Jeez! Don't you watch T.V. at all? she replied with a chuckle.

The thought of her teeth haunted back into his mind. Her teeth and the talons on the ends of her fingers and toes. He looked at his hands and then brought them to his mouth. Everything still seemed normal and he was relieved.

That takes time to happen Jerry, and when it does you will be glad for it, believe me Jerry those things come in handy.

How long have I been out? he thought.

You've been sleeping for two days. You're such a pussy Jerry! I've had princes that stayed awake throughout the whole process. They regretted it, because dying really is a bitch, but they suffered through it. You, however, slept through it like a little baby. It was cute to watch. You tossed and turned in your sleep a lot, but you never screamed once until you woke up.

Two days! Shit! Misha will be at my house! What time is it?

Hold on, she thought back. Jerry rubbed his temple while he waited for her answer and started to slowly walk out of the cave. Two of the clock. Friday morning.

Oh, he said a little relieved. I still have time enough to get home then.

He started to move at a faster pace, but doing it hurt. It hurt a lot and he felt like he wanted to go ahead and undo the undead thing. His mistress was right about dying being a bitch because it actually felt like he had Riga mortise, or what it feels like when you first start working out and you over do it, but the scale was every single muscle in your body and not just some of the ones you strained. Even his brain seemed to have that feeling. He made himself keep moving.

It didn't take him long to reach the cave entrance. The cave was deep but it wasn't like it was miles. The trek back to his Lexus was a bit of a different story. He had climbed three miles to get up to the entrance and he was glad that the trek back was downhill and not up.

Why didn't you wait for me to wake up? he asked her. He started down the path but the going was still slow, because this part of the path was extremely steep.

I told you Jerry, I have fish to fry. I'm in the process of heading back to where I was born. I'll be out of the country before you know it. But don't worry! We'll stay in touch.

Oh, he thought back to her. He kept moving down the path and was glad to see that moving seemed to work the pain out of him. It was as if the pain were falling off of him as he moved and he was picking up pace as he went.

Then pain will be gone in no time Jerry and as it goes it will be replaced by the hunger to feed. You're going to love your fist kill. It really is the best one. I've been waiting for you to wake up just so I can watch it.

First kill? Jerry didn't think he had the stomach for that. He didn't really know the ins and outs of being an 'undead, ' but he knew that he couldn't kill another human being. He was just going to have to stick to animals if it came to that. Her father had been bringing her rabbits, so he would just have to find a cute little bunny hopping around.

He came upon an extremely sharp drop. The drop was so sharp that he had to turn around and descend it backward, but that was okay because he remembered that after that the going would be much easier. He made the descent and brushed his hands free of dirt.

You can't do an animal for your first one Jerry. As a matter of fact animals barely satisfy your need at all. But for your first one ... trying that would drive you mad.

But I...

Can't kill a person Jerry. Yes you can and you will Jerry. Trust me. By the time the opportunity presents itself you won't be able to think about anything else.

Bah, he thought. No way will I ever actually want to kill someone. He started down the path and the pain dissipated even more. He actually felt like running so he started to trot down it. She was right about his hunger. That much was true and as he jogged he started scanning the edges of the path looking for something to fill the need that began to build in him. He didn't care what she said. If he was going to feed he was going to feed on a lesser creature--something that crawled on all fours.

The more he jogged the more the pain disappeared from his muscles and the more the pain in his body decreased the more his desire to feed filled him. His senses also seemed to sharpen. His vision and his attention to detail was getting to be more vivid. He could not only see the trees but he could pick out the details of the bark in the trees despite the fact that he was moving at a fast pace. And he was never very athletic. He'd never jogged a day in his life and yet jogging wasn't making him tired. He wasn't breathing heavy at all so he increased the pace even more.

He was getting hungrier, but the hunger wasn't stemming from his stomach like it used to. He wasn't feeling the need to eat a solid meal. What he was feeling was the desire to sink his teeth into flesh and to suck it. He was feeling the desire to take the blood from another and to make that blood his own. The more he thought about that the more he wanted it and the more he wanted it the harder he got. He ran and he thought and he grew an erection. That was what was happening.

And the bitch was right. He was running and he was hard and he wanted to kill something. He still didn't want to kill a human, but he thought he might want to soon.

His visual senses weren't the only senses that were sharpening. His audio senses also seemed to be getting better, because he could hear the motor of a vehicle even though he knew he wasn't that close to the small parking lot that he left his car in. He guessed he was still at least a mile or so away, but the sound of motor ... no make that motors, was as clear as day to him. The thought brought a smile to his face and he began to run with everything he had.

Good boy Jerry, his mistress said and her words brought him to a stop. He had reached the edge of the clearing where his car was parked. I told you that you'd be ready to kill. Now go get her. Don't even think about doing any of the guys. Stick to the girl.

Jerry stopped completely and shut his eyes. What was he thinking about doing? Had he really come to the point that he was going to take another human being's life? He opened his eyes and gritted his teeth. There were five people standing next to two trucks, but they weren't just standing there. Two guys were holding a woman by her arms. They had her pressed up against the hood of one of the trucks. All of them had their backs to him. They were about a hundred yards away, and it was completely dark, but he could still see everything as clear as day.

She was twisting and turning in their grasp and it was clear that she wanted desperately to extricate herself from them, but she was tiny and they weren't. She was no match for any of them.

"Oh this one is going to be so much fun!" the apparent leader of the group announced. He was standing directly in front of the girl and the two guys that had her pinned. They each had one of her arms and the bigger one of the two had his hand wrapped around her throat. "She's nice and feisty. I like 'em feisty bitch. Make sure you scream out 'no' a lot. I love it when a bitch screams out and begs me to stop!"

She spit at his face and screamed, "HELP ME!" She sounded desperate, scared and on the verge of tears and there was still a part of Jerry that wanted to run up, knock every one of the men on their ass, and free the girl. God knew that was what he would have tried to do three days ago without even thinking about it. He had anger against his wife, and resentment where his daughter was concerned, but he didn't hate women in general. As a matter of fact he didn't hate women at all. He worshipped them. Wasn't that what got him into trouble with the women in his lives in the first place?

He knew that to be true. He let the women in his life walk all over him because he had them on a pedestal and gave them everything they wanted. And the problem with doing that is they never stop wanting more and more shit. The more you give them the more they want and the more you give them the less they respect you. At least that's what happened between him and Sasha. Maybe she didn't really count, because Sasha was a stripper and of course a stripper takes advantage.

Jerry took a few steps out of the edge of the forest and stopped again.

Time is wasting Jerry! his mistress said. I guess you could watch the show first if you want. That might actually be kind of fun watching them all fuck her.

As if on cue the leader of the group reached up and tore her tank top from her. It came free with a rip and she was standing there in shorty shorts, shoes and nothing else. She had a healthy upper body and he knew right off that she was a stripper like Sasha used to be. He remembered how he met Sasha. He remembered how he wanted her because she was the hottest girl in the club and he remembered how he had vowed to take that girl out of the club.

He also remembered the advice the bouncer had given him.

"You like like a nice fella," the bouncer had said. "You look like you're young, and bright and going places."

"Thanks," Jerry had replied.

"Look. I don't know you and you can do whatever you want, but I noticed you taking a liking to Charm." (Charm was the stage name that Sasha used to use). "The thing about Charm is that she a manipulator. Sure she hot. And sure her pussy real nice, but she the type to sink her claws into you and suck your soul out through your nose. Now I'm telling you this cuz you look like a real nice young fella. But don't get to thinking you should take her out of this club. The truth is you can take a stripper out of the club, but you can never take the club out of the stripper," he said that and he walked away.

Jerry was young. He was an up and comer in the banking industry and college educated and the last thing in the world he was going to do was take the advice of a bouncer.