Blood and Needles

by Billy Lyon

  Steven got up to give it another try, but fell down again. It was as if there was some sort of invisible barrier in place that kept him from moving forward to join his loved ones. It was only after he had fallen a third time that he finally understood.

  It’s a wall, Steven realized with growing horror. They’re not going to let me in.

  Steven’s mood changed from delight to panic. Quickly he looked at his mom, his grandparents, and then at Allen and Buster, trying to memorize each one’s face, knowing that even if a million years passed away he would never see them again. He had made his choice, and it was now time for consequences.

  “I’m sorry,” Steven whispered. Slowly, the faces of his loved ones melted away.

  Then, before Steven even had time to realize what was happening, Heaven dissolved around him and he began falling inside an unending darkness, one so complete that not even the smallest particle of light could exist inside it. Eventually the movement ceased and he stood alone, so firmly entrenched in the dark abyss that time itself lost all meaning.

  After what might have been either twenty minutes or twenty million years, a massive voice broke through the darkness. “Steven Michael Jameson,” the God of Heaven boomed, “Through your selfishness and unfailing ignorance you have rejected my Paradise and chosen to live as Nosferatu. I therefore proclaim you Bane to Me and all that is Mine. From this moment forward, the world of Light is denied you, and you will scurry amongst the shadows and flee the sun’s blessed rays for all eternity. Depart from me forever, wicked son of iniquity.”

  At these words an anger began to burn deep inside Steven. At first only a cinder, it quickly became infused with an endless energy, one born of a quarter century’s worth of pain and sorrow. Once it reached critical mass, the white-hot rage erupted with an explosion that would not be denied.

  Fuck you, then! Steven screamed. You never did anything for me anyway, except bring misery that I never deserved! Banish me if you like! I RENOUNCE YOU AND ALL YOUR WORKS!!

  Then Steven awoke, back inside the mansion and his own body once more. He opened his eyes. Anna Marie was still holding him, her own eyes tightly closed. Steven reached up and tugged softly at one of her blond locks. She opened her eyes and smiled. Steven’s lost paradise faded from his memory as quickly and irrevocably as a dream upon waking.

  “Welcome back,” Anna Marie said. “Was that a bitch, or what?”

  6

  “Yeah, you could say that.” Steven lay in her arms for several minutes, trying to decompress from the events that had just transpired. Anna Marie had told him that becoming a vampire would mean forfeiting any chance for Heaven, but he hadn’t expected the experience to be so personal, so ghastly.

  “Why didn’t you tell me that was going to happen?” The question had more of an accusatory tone than he had intended.

  “I wanted to, Steven, believe me, but I couldn’t. It’s against the rules.”

  “Tell me, who makes up these rules, the Marquis de Sade?”

  Anna Marie chuckled. Her laugh, which he had once hated so much, now seemed endearing.

  They stood, and Steven took an inventory on how it felt to be a vampire. It felt pretty damned good. There was a vitality surging through his body that hadn’t been there in many a year. It was as if he’d been given a full body enema, and all the physical and emotional shit that had accumulated inside him over the past decade had been washed down the bathroom sink. His stomach no longer cramped, and also gone was the ever-present urge to puke on everything in sight. He could actually think without having to filter his thoughts through the pain of withdrawals.

  “Your Majesty! I’m not sick!”

  “I keep my promises,” Anna Marie said proudly. “And knock off the Your Majesty business. You’ve already proven your loyalty to me, and besides, we’re pretty informal around here. Just call me Anna Marie.”

  Almost unconsciously they had stepped closer to each other. Steven felt an undefinable pull towards Anna Marie, one that hadn’t been there when he was human. The hate he had once felt for her had been replaced by another emotion, one he couldn’t quite identify.

  There are worse ways to spend eternity than serving under this magnificent creature, Steven thought, before remembering to his immense chagrin that Anna Marie could read his mind.

  “Easy, boy,” Anna Marie said, and pushed him away. “But thanks for the compliment. We are well pleased,” she proclaimed, with a false air of regal superiority. Now it was Steven’s turn to chuckle. Damn, are we flirting?

  “Of course we are. I may be a few thousand years older than you, but I’m still very much a female vampire.” Anna Marie stepped closer until only inches separated them, about eight of them. Steven didn’t know if what he was getting ready to do was a violation of protocol or not, but at this point he didn’t really give a damn.

  Better to ask for forgiveness than permission, right?

  Steven moved forward to kiss her, but just as he was getting close enough to close the deal, he felt something separate them, the previously-mentioned eight inches. His hard-on was so massive that it rose almost horizontally inside his baggy shorts and pressed itself tight against Anna Marie’s crotch. This sudden boner made his attempt at kissing her awkward, and he became a teenager once more, wrestling with the catch on his girlfriend’s bra.

  “Well, I may be undead, but at least my cock still works.”

  This time their laughter was simultaneous, and served to dissolve the thick sexual tension.

  This mind reading stuff is going to take some getting used to.

  “What else do you feel?” Anna Marie asked. “Besides being horny, I mean?”

  “I feel strong,” Steven said.

  During the past ten years Steven had paid no attention to anything other than getting high. As a junkie, his idea of a good meal had been a bowl of Ramen Noodles mixed with chunky peanut butter (he called the nasty concoction Poor Man’s Thai Food) or some Lucky Charms at the end of a long day of shooting poison into his veins. Before picking up the needle he had been a strong, healthy teenager, tipping the scales at 165 pounds. Within a few months of becoming a junkie, that number had shrunk to 130, and the general consensus of those who had known him before was that he had become a sad caricature of his former self.

  “Remember this?” Anna Marie asked, and tossed the heavy iron chain that had bound him to the wall. Steven held one end in each hand and pulled. The links stretched like a piece of salt water taffy and broke, despite the fact that he was exerting hardly any pressure. “Holy shit!” he sputtered and dropped the chain to the floor.

  It was at this point that Steven began to notice just how ravenous he was. The hunger consumed him, like a dying fire granted a sudden infusion of oxygen. He growled.

  “I see someone is ready for dinner,” Anna Marie said. She took his hand and led him towards the door, but before they crossed the threshold, he thought about his mom one last time. “I’m so sorry about your mother, Steven,” Anna Marie said, reading his mind. “Rest assured, we will give her a proper burial.”

  Steven raised Anna Marie’s hand and kissed it “Thanks. Mom always believed that when someone dies the body is just a hunk of dead meat. It was the spirit inside that mattered to her. I know she’s happy now and wouldn’t care what we did with her corpse, but it’s still nice to know she won’t be thrown out like a bag of garbage.”

  They joined hands again and climbed up the stairs that led out of the basement. Steven took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. I hope I made the right choice.

  They walked to the first room on the right. Anna Marie opened the door and motioned for Steven to enter. In the center of the room was a massive table covered by a thick black tapestry. Lying on top was a gorgeous young woman who looked to be around twenty years old. She was completely naked, and clearly not a junkie. Her muscles were taut from years of regular workouts, her eyes were clear, and her olive-colored skin was free of track marks. Her legs were spread slightly and as Steven�
��s eyes meandered downward he caught a glimpse of her gaping sex, bald except for a dirty blonde landing strip that matched the color of the hair on her head.

  Anna Marie crept up from behind Steven and reached a hand around his hips. She slowly massaged his cock, which had sprung back to attention. “Do you like her?” Steven fell back against the wall and closed his eyes, weak from hunger and desire. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Anna Marie said, her breath coming hard and heavy. “I wanted your first kill to be special, so I picked her out myself.”

  Below him, the girl’s heart beat wildly, and the sound of blood being pumped along her veins and arteries excited Steven even more than the sight of her naked body. “Why isn’t she trying to get away? It’s almost like she’s getting off on knowing what I’m about to do to her.”

  “She is. She thinks you’re going to bring her over.” Steven must have looked confused, because Anna Marie quickly continued. “She’s an acolyte, Steven. An acolyte is a human we employ to take care of our day to day needs, mostly routine logistics that we can’t because of the sun. They know what we are and in return for their service we promise to make them like us, which we call bringing over. The sad part of it is that they actually believe us. I guess they never learned not to ever trust a junkie, especially a junkie vampire.”

  Anna Marie laughed, but the mirth in her voice turned on a dime and she became deathly serious. “Make no mistake, Steven. This isn’t Twilight. We don’t fall in love with humans, we drink their blood. Mortals are weak, mindless creatures that mean no more to us than a Big Mac with fries does to them. Only a chosen few, such as yourself, are ever found worthy to join us.” She nudged him towards the girl. “I’ll be waiting in the hallway outside. Just come there when you’ve finished.”

  Steven stopped her. “Wait. This is stupid, I know, but how do I do it? Bite her, I mean. My teeth don’t seem any different than they ever were.”

  “Don’t worry. When the time comes, you’ll know how.” Anna Marie turned to walk away, but then stopped. “I almost forgot the most important part. This will make your first kill even more enjoyable.” She reached inside her bosom and pulled out yet another vial of heroin.

  Jesus, how much dope can she hold in that bra of hers? Steven wondered.

  Anna Marie emptied the drugs in a thick line across the surface of her breast, and pulled Steven to her. He inhaled, and almost immediately felt the high. He fell to the floor and let the euphoria carry him away to a much better place.

  Anna Marie lifted him back to his feet. “Enjoy your meal,” she said, and left.

  Steven looked down at the girl.

  How could someone barely out of her teens be caught up in something like this?

  That’s a stupid question. You aren’t much older than she is, and look at some of the crazy shit you’ve done.

  Another voice invaded Steven’s reverie. After some brief confusion, he realized that he was hearing the acolyte’s thoughts.

  He’s really hot… I hope he fucks me while he does it. I wonder what it will be like to be one of them?

  “You’ll find out soon enough,” Steven said. The girl looked at him in shock, unaware of his telepathic abilities. Anna Marie was right. They really are stupid. Does she actually think becoming one of us would be so easy?

  You’re beginning to think like a vampire already, Steven, he told himself. The thought pleased him greatly.

  “What’s your name?” Steven asked the girl.

  “My name is Lauren.”

  “Well, Lauren, are you ready to do this?”

  “Oh, yes,” she purred. “I’ve wanted it for so long.”

  Steven unzipped his pants, took her hand, and guided it to his cock. There was nothing youthful about the way she stroked it. “Hey, slow down, Lauren. Let’s make this last, okay?”

  Lauren continued to grip him firmly, but slowed her pace. Her free hand moved to her own crotch, and she flicked her clit back and forth as she worked on Steven’s prick. Steven bent and kissed her. “That’s better. Nice and slow.”

  Steven put two fingers inside her and slammed them hard, all the way to the hilt. Lauren tightened her grip on his cock and began to grind her pussy hard against his hand. Her eyes rolled back into her head.

  “Yes!” she cried. “Oh, fuck, yes! More! I want more!”

  Lauren’s cries brought Steven’s thirst to its peak, and initiated his transformation into something more than human. The muscles in his arms, legs, and torso grew until he was twice his normal size, giving him the strength of a hundred humans. His hair receded into his scalp until only a few sparse tufts remained. The skin around his facial bones grew taut, and his ears lengthened and narrowed. His lips became almost nonexistent as his gums grew to accommodate his changing teeth, which had not only multiplied in number, but sharpened to a point where they could tear through the softest flesh or crush the hardest bone. The cuspids (he had ironically called them his ‘vampire teeth’ as a child) tripled in number and doubled in width. Their length increased until the uppers reached down to his chin and the lowers extended upward well past his upper lip.

  Once the transformation was complete Steven could hold back no longer. The human named Lauren screamed in abandon as Steven showered her with come, but seconds later her cries turned from ecstasy to agony as he ripped open her neck with his army of teeth. Rapture enveloped him as her carotid arteries tore and filled his mouth with blood. He drank deeply as her dying heart jettisoned massive streams of the thick, heady liquid into his mouth.

  Eventually Lauren’s blood flow became weaker, slowed, and stopped altogether, yet Steven wanted more. He tore off her head and turned the body upside down, lifting it until her neck was a foot above his mouth. He shook the corpse over and over again, like a couch potato trying to get the last crumbs from a bag of chips. When he had drained the last few ounces he tossed her corpse aside and ran out of the room into the hallway, where Anna Marie stood waiting.

  Steven grabbed Anna Marie and shared the human’s remaining blood in a deep, soulful kiss.

  7

  They remained in the bloody embrace for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually their passion waned, and Steven felt the changes in his body begin to reverse. He looked down. On the outside at least, he appeared human again.

  Steven pulled away from Anna Marie and leaned alongside her against the wall, both of them blood-drunk. He felt sheepish, fearing his kiss might have been out of bounds. After all, she was the queen. Anna Marie obviously didn’t think so. She pulled him close and kissed him again, more slowly and deliberately this time, taking the time to enjoy herself.

  Steven peered deep into the eyes that had once scared him so. Now he found them mesmerizing. I could drown inside those icy pools, he thought. He ran his fingers through her hair as he cupped her face with his other hand. He kissed her again softly, knowing that even if he lived for a million years he would never want to kiss another.

  After a few more minutes they separated. “What time is it?” Steven asked. “It has to be getting pretty late.

  “We have about an hour until the sun comes up,” Anna Marie said. “Plenty of time.”

  “How can you tell? I haven’t seen a clock since you shanghaied me into this outfit.”

  Anna Marie took his hand and led him out of the room. “After you’ve been at the vampire game for a while you develop a kind of built-in alarm clock as far as sunset and sunrise are concerned.”

  “Is the sun really that dangerous?”

  Anna Marie shuddered. “Vampire movies get a lot of things wrong about us, but they’re right on the money as far as the sun is concerned. Steven, if you never listen to anything else I tell you, listen to this. You must be aware of where you are in relation to the sun at all times. If even the tiniest bit of sunlight touches your skin, it will burn you alive. Death by sunlight is the most horrific death a vampire can endure, so you must promise me that you’ll never get caught out in the daytime.”

  “I do,” St
even said, touched by the concern in Anna Marie’s voice. He wondered if she worried as much about every member of the clan as much. Jealously, he hoped not.

  “Thank you,” Anna Marie said, and they resumed walking. “I suppose you’re wondering where you’ll be sleeping tonight.”

  “It had crossed my mind. “I expect my coffin to be I-Pod ready and come with a fully stocked mini-bar.”

  “Well then, you’re shit out of luck, at least for tonight. In a couple of days, you’ll have your formal induction into the clan and your permanent coffin, the one with all the bells and whistles, won’t be ready until then. Things upstairs are a mess right now due to all the acolytes running around making preparations, so it would be much simpler if you could sleep down here just for today. The room is completely sun-proof and I’ve arranged for someone to watch over you while you sleep. Do you mind?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Thanks for understanding. I promise to make it up to you.” Anna Marie opened a door at the end of the hallway. The room was empty except for a plain pine box. It looked just barely long enough to hold Steven’s body, and was only three or four feet high. Steven had never noticed any claustrophobic tendencies in himself before, but he had never been forced to sleep in a coffin, either. At least I won’t have to worry about tossing and turning in my sleep.

  “Don’t worry,” Anna Marie said. “You’ll get used to it pretty quickly.”

  “How long does it take to fall asleep in one of those things? What if I have to get up and take a piss?”

  Anna Marie chuckled. “Then I guess you’ll just have to hold it. Or piss in your pants. Anyway, sleep won’t be a problem. A fix the size of the Empire State Building will eradicate any insomnia issues, I promise.”

  “This is true.”

  Steven walked to the coffin and stood beside it. “So is the bottom of this thing filled with dirt?” Without waiting for an answer he removed the lid and peered down. The floor was covered with a clumpy layer of earth. He inhaled the musty smell, which reminded him of digging for night crawlers in preparation for a fishing trip with Allen and his dad.