Living Like A Vampire

by Jacky Dahlhaus

  “Yes, it is. I lived in a small house that resembled the pancake house from Hansel and Gretel, not far from the school,” I said.

  “Really?”

  You’re letting him go off track now.

  “Yes, but I’m so sorry to have interrupted your story. Please do continue,” I urged Harry.

  “That’s okay. So, everybody expected Caleb to move out as soon as he knew that Duncan was on his way. However, during the hunt last night we ran into Caleb’s pack, it appeared they hadn’t left. They didn’t interfere with our hunt, but they kept an eye on us all the same. It was really creepy.”

  Harry seemed to be deep in thought after this, and I let him be. I was thinking about what he had said as well. Charlie didn’t take the opportunity during the silent moment to talk to me. I understood he didn’t want me to talk about Caleb, but I couldn’t figure out why. So I was left with my own thoughts and questions.

  Why hadn’t Caleb’s pack moved on? What were they still doing in Bullsbrook last night? Why was Caleb hanging around Duncan’s pack if they had some sort of feud going on?

  Whatever the reason for this strange situation, I wondered if it would be possible to slip out of Duncan’s pack and go back to join Caleb’s pack.

  My thoughts were interrupted when a man dropped back and fell into step next to me. A bit annoyed with the spatial intrusion, I gave him a sideways glance to find out who the intruder was. He presented as another perfect specimen of an army bolo; crew cut, wide jaw, muscular build. My attention was drawn to his pronounced chin with a large dimple in the middle.

  Ballchinnian.

  I suppressed a giggle.

  “Hi,” the man said, looking unsure but still trying to smile. “You must be Kate.”

  I wondered how he knew my name and what he had heard of my conversation with Harry. I also had no idea what my conversation with him was going to lead to, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to be polite.

  “Yes, I am. What’s your name?”

  “My name’s Ben,” he said, sticking his chest out that little bit further. “Hi Harry,” he said to Harry.

  “Hi Ben,” Harry replied.

  Charlie was completely ignored, and although I thought he was acting like a teenage schoolboy, I felt a pang of sorrow for him.

  “Ben has helped me from the beginning,” Harry said to me.

  I didn’t know if that meant Ben knew Harry was still a human, but I thought better to assume not. Just in case.

  “Yes, I took Harry under my wing, so to speak,” Ben said. “I stood up for him when Duncan wanted to throw him out of the pack when it became clear Harry wasn’t getting any stronger. Such a bummer he’s got that rare blood disease. And now you’re another one with it. How unlikely is that?”

  For heaven’s sake. I am surrounded by morons.

  I thought I’d better go with the flow.

  “Yes, what are the odds of Duncan having two weaklings in his pack?”

  Ben put on a grave face.

  “Don’t you worry, Kate. I’ll make sure Duncan has nothing to complain about. I’ll get you some good blood tonight, and you will feel a lot stronger soon. I’ll take care of you.”

  Somebody pinch me, I think I am being courted.

  If I had any doubts of Ben courting me or not they were laid to rest when he continued.

  “You just stay with me, and I will make sure nothing happens to you. I can provide for you,” he said.

  Charlie got a bug in his throat again. It appeared to be a really big one this time. While Harry and Ben fussed over Charlie, I tapped my foot, arms crossed. This time, I knew exactly what was bothering him. Once Harry and Ben were sure Charlie wasn’t going to pass out, I thought I’d better make sure he didn’t choke again.

  “You don’t have to worry about me, Ben. Charlie is taking good care of me already,” I said to him.

  Ben stuck his neck out to look at Charlie. From the expression on his face, I could tell he wasn’t convinced.

  “Oh, is he? Well, I think I can do better. You can call on me anytime, Kate.” He put his hand on my shoulder.

  I stared at Ben’s hand, not sure what to do with it. Charlie couldn’t see it, but I didn’t want it there nevertheless. I guess Ben saw me looking at it as he abruptly took it away. I didn’t want to hurt Ben’s feelings as he, obviously, had nothing but good intentions for me, so I had better make things right again.

  “Thank you for the offer, Ben. I will keep it in mind,” I politely replied. I wondered what book on courting Ben had read.

  It must have been from the history section in the library.

  Getting to Know Harry Better

  After walking for what I figured was about three hours, we could see a little village on the horizon. I had asked Harry why we didn’t drive there, to which he replied that Duncan wanted us to get stronger and increase our stamina through the exercise of marching. We walked for another half hour until we were about five minutes away from the village. We were then ordered to sit down and rest. When I asked Harry why, he told us we had to get our strength up before ‘surprising’ the villagers.

  Trick or treat. We’re here to eat.

  The four of us sat down under a tree; Charlie, Harry, Ben, and me. I took my shoes and socks off and started to rub my feet. They had been used to standing all day in the classroom, not to marching for hours.

  “Here, let me do that,” Harry said with an authoritative voice. He took my foot on his lap and began a vigorous foot massage. It hurt a bit but felt great at the same time.

  Charlie made it his mission to look in any direction but mine. Harry touching my bare foot was apparently uncomfortable to him, and I felt bad about it even though it was only my foot, and Harry certainly wasn’t touching it in a sensuous way.

  Suddenly, a bell started ringing in my mind. Was that what was bothering Charlie? Would he be jealous? I reminded myself I had tried to tell Charlie I didn’t love him before we went to sleep, and that he had said he knew that.

  So what’s his problem?

  When Harry began massaging my other foot, one of the girls from the pack walked up and asked Harry if he could massage her feet too. She had a terrible nasal voice but wasn’t bad looking. Her bright red lipstick was just as notable as her voice. Before Harry had a chance to reply, Ben offered his services to her. There was a flicker of disappointment on her face, but she accepted his offer. Ben excused himself and followed the girl to where she had been sitting.

  When it was just the three of us, I turned to Harry.

  “Does he know?” I whispered.

  “No, he’s too stupid.”

  The intelligent tone of Harry’s voice surprised me. Maybe there was more to Harry than I had initially thought. Only time would tell if I was right.

  Charlie finally decided to speak.

  “So what’ll happen when the hunt starts? How have you been dealing with this so far?” He looked at Harry, still not at me.

  “Oh, simple,” Harry said. “I managed to be allowed to hunt and feed on my own. I guess Duncan only agreed because he keeps hoping I don’t survive. Unfortunately for him, I keep disappointing him.” There was a wicked grin on his face.

  Charlie and I were impressed with Harry’s insight. As Charlie chuckled, he accidentally looked at me but immediately glanced away. He seemed adamant to hold a grudge against me. Was he really? I glimpsed the corners of his mouth moving upwards and dimples forming on his cheeks. He threw a quick glance at me but spun his head away from me again when he saw I was still looking at him. His smile got bigger. He was teasing me now.

  In heaven’s name, Charlie. Grow up.

  The words in my head made me giggle. Both Charlie and Harry looked at me with inquiring faces, but I waved them off, keeping my little bit of fun to myself.

  Ha, take that, Smudge.

  We didn’t get much longer to rest, and before I knew it, everybody was pumped up and ready to go hunting. Apparently, Duncan had a strict routine with little villages as no
instructions were given. Everybody appeared to know what to do, drifting out to surround the village. Charlie and I stuck with Harry. Ben had again offered to take me under his wing, but I convinced him that together, Charlie and Harry would take good care of me.

  As we walked into the village, Harry looked at Charlie and asked me quietly, outside of Charlie’s earshot, if Charlie needed to go out and feed.

  “No, he’s like us, Harry,” I told him, taking my chances.

  “Ah, I wasn’t sure after our first conversation. I mean, I figured he knew about you, but he’d said he had achondroplasia, not a blood disorder.”

  He threw me off balance. I was one-hundred percent sure that Charlie had not used that word in that conversation. I raised my eyebrows but didn’t say anything.

  Harry must have noticed as he explained his word choice without me asking for it.

  “I’m a medical student.”

  Give me a chair so I can fall off it.

  The foot massage. He definitely had paid attention during anatomy lessons.

  This explained a lot. Harry was certainly more intelligent than I had originally credited him for. What’s more, he knew how to use it. He had clamped onto a moron for cover and pretended to be one too. No wonder he had survived for so long.

  Hunting in the Village

  Harry took us into the village center. It had the same look as Bullsbrook; deserted and rampaged and no soul in sight. After walking through the main street, passing a primary school, we turned into a side street. Not far from that, he pointed to a house.

  “We’ll take that one.”

  “Why that house?” Charlie said.

  “Children live there,” he answered. As we neared the house, we saw a bouncy ball and some plastic toys on the front lawn. Charlie and I both looked at Harry with an expression of, ‘so what?’

  “They’ll have snack packs for lunch boxes in the refrigerator and, if we’re lucky, prepared meals in the freezer,” he gloated back at us.

  This guy keeps surprising me at every corner.

  We followed him around to the back of the house where he knocked out one of the windows of the kitchen door. The glass shattered on the floor and made a terrible noise. I tensed. Then I reminded myself that we were the top dog now, not the ones that needed to be scared, and let my breath go. Harry opened the provisionally barricaded door. As we entered the kitchen, we heard a muffled female scream coming from upstairs; people were still in the house. Charlie and I stopped in alarm again, exchanging fearful glances, but Harry waved off our concern.

  “They won’t bother us. They’re too scared. As long as we don’t go upstairs, they won’t come down.” He said that last sentence a little louder.

  Harry was right on all counts, most importantly on the fact that the people didn’t come down. There were little packages with cut apples and grapes in the refrigerator that we immediately snacked on. In the freezer, we found a large container with cooked macaroni in tomato sauce that we defrosted in the microwave. While waiting for the meal to heat up, I asked Harry why he had never tried to escape Duncan’s pack.

  “Don’t think the idea hasn’t entered my mind,” Harry said, “and believe you me, I’ve tried. But Duncan keeps a tight ship. Whenever we hunt, he has suckers placed around the hunting ground to prevent anybody escaping, friend or foe. He doesn’t want a second Caleb situation. His ego wouldn’t be able to take it. There are guards posted when we sleep during the day; they take turns to stay awake. They’re positioned at every entrance and exit, to make sure we aren’t attacked by humans Duncan says, but I’m certain he also doesn’t want anyone to leave. And it works which means it makes it impossible to get away, unfortunately.” He sighed.

  Somebody, please crush this brick in my stomach.

  Yeah, and spill the beans about this Duncan-Caleb situation.

  We finished dinner on the floor of the dark kitchen. Harry got up first.

  “Excuse me for a second,” he said and walked into the living room. There he began smashing a chair into the wall, continuing his rampage into the hallway. I didn’t know what had come over him. Charlie and I both got up, looking for an explanation. I glanced at Charlie, but he looked as perplexed as I felt. We both followed Harry’s moves as he punched his fist into a wall, opening up the skin on his knuckles, wiping this blood on the corner of his mouth and then smeared the remaining blood on the walls here and there. Finally, he was done with his rampage and stood content in front of us.

  “Gotta make it look real,” he smiled.

  “Oh, okay, good thinking,” Charlie said.

  In my opinion, he had overdone it a bit, so I thought I’d better keep my mouth shut.

  When you have nothing nice to say, better not say anything at all.

  Charlie took a cutting knife from one of the kitchen drawers. He cut the side of his hand and smeared the blood onto the corner of his mouth. He wiped the knife on a tea towel and gave it to me. I took it from him and held it in my right hand. I put the point onto the palm of my left hand. No matter how hard I tried to push the blade in, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t make the knife go into my flesh. I exhaled, inhaled, and tried again, but as soon as the metal touched my skin, the hand holding the knife stopped.

  “I…I can’t do this,” I said, and let the knife fall onto the floor. I let myself slide along the kitchen cupboard until I sat on the floor. As I rubbed the spot where the knife had touched my skin, I was certain I was doomed.

  Charlie took the knife off the floor and for a second I thought he was going to cut my hand for me. To my relief, he put the knife on the benchtop. He kneeled next to me. I had no idea what he was up to, so I kept a close eye on him.

  “Turn your head a bit,” he said. I obeyed, but still kept my eyes on him. He squeezed the wound he just made on his own hand until blood was dripping out again, then smeared the blood on my face.

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re not done yet. Turn your head the other way,” he said, and he smeared some more freshly squeezed blood on the other side of my face.

  “Can’t have Ben thinking I don’t feed you enough.” His smile was kind.

  I smiled back at him, glad his good mood was back.

  We shared the chocolate bars Charlie and I had taken from the dollar shop with Harry, who studied the shape of the bars I gave him but didn’t say anything. We also drank as much as we could as we were parched. Charlie was disappointed he couldn’t find any beer in the house, but he didn’t linger over it and drank almost a liter of milk.

  Before we left, Harry was rummaging through one of the kitchen drawers.

  “What are you looking for?” I asked.

  “Pen and paper.”

  “Why?” Charlie asked. It was the same question I had on my mind.

  When Harry had found what he wanted he turned around. “To write a thank you note,” he said as if it was the most logical thing in the world.

  “Oh, of course,” was all I could say.

  “Sor-ry for da-ma-ging your home and ea-ting your food,” Harry said as he wrote and signed it, ‘Harry.’

  He put the note in the refrigerator. He told us he left it there because no sucker would ever look in a fridge. When I said no sucker would come here when it was obvious there had been a fight, he said he never knew if they checked out the houses after him. It was so sweet of him to write that note. His parents had done a good job raising him. Thinking of my own parents caused a lump in my throat to swell up, and I didn’t speak for the next fifteen minutes until it subsided.

  Sleeping Arrangements

  When we arrived at the village square, the gathering had just finished. Relief washed over me as I didn’t have to watch the horror of the feeding. Harry had timed it on the dot. I was so thankful for meeting Harry, and my respect for him grew by the hour.

  There wasn’t a dance hall in the little village, and we followed directions to other sleeping arrangements. I was hoping it involved a soft bed this time.

  It’s
amazing how you take simple things for granted.

  We walked up to a motel located on the outskirts of the village, and as we got nearer, a certain dread began to creep into my mind. Motel rooms usually had double beds. Now, I knew Harry would not suggest sleeping in between Charlie and me, but I wasn’t looking forward to sleeping with just Charlie in one bed either.

  We went into the reception area and approached a bolo, who had been tasked with assigning rooms.

  “Sorry, Harry, you know the rules. You’ll have to sleep in the daycare center,” the bolo said as soon as we walked in.

  “Oh, yeah, I forgot,” Harry said with this stupid look on his face.

  This guy should get an Oscar.

  The bolo handed Charlie the key to our room and gave Harry directions to the daycare center. The three of us walked out again.

  “Why can’t you sleep here?” Charlie asked Harry.

  Harry hunched his shoulders as he put his hands in his pockets.

  “Duncan’s instructions, I’m afraid. Couples only in hotels and motels.”

  A wave of adrenaline rushed through my body, and my mouth went dry.

  Why do people keep thinking Charlie and I are a couple? Sure, we’re both not the tallest of people, but that doesn’t mean we automatically fall for each other.

  Well, we did arrive in the pack at the same time and spend every single minute together. Just sayin.’

  That was that. If Duncan had given the order, then there was no argument to be made. I sighed. We said goodnight to Harry, and Charlie and I walked to our room. Charlie opened it with the key and let me enter first. It was small, decorated contemporary in relaxing green tones. As soon as we had entered, Charlie locked the door behind us. I felt like a trapped animal.

  Why am I so uptight? I slept in one bed with Sue, and she was a good friend. So what’s the difference?

  Keep kidding yourself, kiddo.

  I was standing at the end of the bed, gazing longingly at it. It had a definite attraction, but the potential price that came with it was keeping me from letting my body do what it wanted.