by Pepper Pace
URBAN VAMPIRE
The Turning
By Pepper Pace
Copyright
© 2011 by Pepper Pace. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Pepper Pace.
Disclaimer
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This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. This book contains graphic depictions of sexual acts and is intended for adults only.
PEPPER PACE BOOKS
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STRANDED!
Love Intertwined Vol. 1
Juicy
Dedication
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To my readers who helped me bring this story to life with your many comments and feedback.
CHAPTER 1
When I woke up I was dead. I didn't immediately realize this. I thought I just had a bad case of food poisoning.
But no, I was a creature of the night--and I'm not talking ebonics! I was a Vampire.
I know how this sounds. Who knew that Vampires actually existed?! I've watched the campy movies and read the lusty books just like everyone else. I could not have dreamed that Vampirism is based on actual truth.
Let's face it; I don't meet the profile of the typical girl turned vampire. Bella is so tragic, Buffy is a cheerleader and I'm a black girl from the hood. I do customer service at the local cable company, and my rounded body does not fit neatly into a size two!
So when I awoke that night, sicker than I had ever been in my life, hugging the porcelain god and puking my guts up, I just attributed it to the damned buffet at Club Midnight. I was in so much torment that if I could have made it to my phone I swear I would have called an ambulance. Right then and there I swore to myself that I'd never eat at another free buffet at ladies night!
My best friend Arnitra and I had gone to a new club where the music was supposed to be more than just rap but DJ’s that know how to mix dance, hip hop and techno. Happy hour included a free buffet that at the time I thought was banging! But somewhere between the sesame chicken wings and lasagna, the shit must have been rank! I puked even harder at the thought of food and before I knew it I was passed out on my bathroom floor. I’m not saying that I have many blackouts due to drinking, but I certainly didn’t equate it to being dead.
The next time that I opened my eyes I had a hellafied hangover! My ears were ringing and everything looked strange and bright through my eyes. I flushed the toilet before I got sick again and took a long hot shower. I was planning to crawl into my bed with a bottle of aspirin, but first I was going to call Arnitra and find out if she had gotten sick too.
I'm not going to say that Arnitra and I are hoochie mamas, but we had gotten into the habit of hitting the hot clubs on ladies nights just for the cheap drinks and good music—more so than to meet guys. I'd heard a lot about Club Midnight but it was the next county over and no one likes to drink, dance and then spend two hours getting back home after midnight. Now I wish I'd never gone...
I picked up the phone and climbed into bed dialing Arnitra's number.
"Hello?"
"Arnitra?"
"Oh, is this my friend the ho? Why haven't you been answering your cell phone, ho? And how are you going to diss me and leave the club with that funky looking Rasta Man?!"
"What?" I sat up alarmed. "What do you mean I left the club with a Rasta?"
My friend's voice changed. "Kim, are you okay?"
"Y...Yeah. Let me call you back." I hung up the phone because I suddenly remembered. How the hell did I forget in the first place?!
This guy had come up to me when I was on my way to the restrooms. I didn't really like his approach, because he touched my elbow to get my attention. But when I looked into his eyes they were the strangest most intriguing eyes I'd ever seen. Even thinking about them now made me dizzy. He wasn't all that much to look at but something about him drew me. He was sporting dreds that ran down to the small of his back which had definitely seen better days. And he was wearing a shirt and pants combination that hadn't been fashionable in ten years. I mean, in a room full of fine-ass men you certainly wouldn't pick him out of the crowd.
"Pritty laty," he spoke in heavily accented English, gripping my elbow. Instinctively I pulled away from his touch. That's when I looked into his eyes. For a split second I felt amused then his eyes...drew me.
After that...everything was a blur. That bastard must have slipped me a roofie! Immediately I felt down below...but I was so all over sore and miserable I couldn't tell if...I began to shake with rage at the idea that someone might have drugged and taken advantage of me!
And that's when something strange happened. My mouth got wet with saliva and my gums began to tingle. I could feel my teeth in my mouth all of a sudden pointy and sharp.
"What the hell...?" I jumped up to look into my mirror just as my phone rang. Damn...I must be sick because I just thought about the mirror and then I was suddenly there. I barely remember moving to get to it...
Ignoring the phone I stared at my teeth and considered how quickly I had moved...
Finally the ringing of the phone captured my attention and absently I answered it.
"Yeah...uh, hello?
"Kim. Can I ask you a question? Why the hell did you just hang up on me? Is that Rasta still there?!" It was Arnitra again.
"Arnitra...something is definitely not right." I muttered past my new teeth. "What exactly happened at the club last night?"
"That jacked up Rasta bogarted all of your time. At first I thought you were just being funny and that we were going to talk about him after you dumped him. Then the next thing I knew you were walking out the door with him. You don't remember this? I ran after you and you just said that ...what was his name?...Tige! That Tige was going to take you home and you'd call me later. You don't remember any of this?"
I lied. I had to—at least until I could get everything that was happening to me straight in my head. "I remember...Arnitra, I'm fine. Look let me call you back, okay?" I disconnected again and then went back to the mirror and examined my teeth. They were still there; long and pointy--and dangerously sharp, I discovered when I ran my tongue over them. I tried to push them back up into my gums. No luck.
That's when I started noticing other changes. I don't know how I had initially missed them. My only excuse is that...well I was either suffering the after effects of some date rape drug, or...I was newly undead. Should I be scared? Yes, but strangely I wasn’t. I backed up and studied myself in the mirror more closely.
Okay, let me just state that I have been working out. Recently I had made a decision to improve myself both body and soul and I have been making a conscious effort to eat better and exercise more. So I joined a gym and so far have faithfully attended.
But the changes I was seeing weren't based on the gym. My face had taken on a glow that looked like I had gone to a salon and been expertly made up. I touched my cheeks knowing that I didn't have any make up on. I had scrubbed my face in the shower. And if anything I should be looking like hell after being sick like I was.
I touched my hair where golden highlights had sprouted and then I ran my hands down my body...my now much thinner body. I wasn't wearing a bra under my t-shirt so I could feel that my breasts had perked up considerably. My waist had narrowed and when I felt my stomach it was tight and muscular.
"Oh...shit." Then I suddenly gripped my ass, fearful that my ghetto-bootie would have disappeared. I was pleasantly surprised to find it still present and even more bootielicious now that I had the hour glass figure. I'm not saying I was a size 2, on the contrary, but I was freaking hot!
I paced back and forth alternating between cursing and admiring my new looks. Again I tried to determine if I was afraid—I should be, but again, I wasn’t. I just looked too damn good and I wasn’t even going to pretend. I tried to piece together the exact events of what happened once I left Club Midnight with—Tige (did I fuck him??).
It was fuzzy. We'd driven to his place, I think. I remember a sparsely furnished apartment. He'd been talking and had kissed my neck in an odd way...I remember feeling weak afterwards. Then there was blank spots and later he thanked me for a lovely time. He hadn't even touched me in a sexual way but I felt like I was in the afterglow of the best sex of my life. He was driving me home...and I remember...an explosion of light!
A car hit ours, on my side! I remembered! We had been in an accident and I had been thrown out onto the street. Bits and pieces of my memory began returning. The Rasta had been standing over me, then I was being carried; the sensation like I was flying. Next we were here at my home. He had made me invite him in, repeating it over and over again until I could finally speak the words.
I sat down, my mouth going dry. I couldn't bring up any more memories. After inviting him in, there was nothing.
CHAPTER 2
As much as I wanted to sit there curled into a ball feeling sorry for myself I knew that I had to find some answers.
I had the vampire teeth and the unnatural other worldly beauty. I apparently had the speed...but what about strength?
Slowly I looked for something to move or pick up. The stove; I had dropped a slice of carrot on the side of the stove a week ago and had meant to move it so that I could sweep it out.
I opened the oven door enough to slip my hand inside for a good grip. It took absolutely no effort to lift! My stove felt like it was made of foam. I dropped it with a thud.
"Shit!" I shook my hands like a spider had crawled across my fingers. "Okay, I'm a Vampire. Shit I'm a Vampire." Saying it out loud actually helped to calm me. "Vampires drink blood...do I want to drink blood?" I thought about it.
The idea of blood did not seem appealing at all. Okay...no blood lust. I grabbed a can of soda from the fridge. I guzzled down half of it before it came right back up. Of course...that could just be because I was queasy. I decided that test was inconclusive.
What about garlic. Was I now repelled by garlic? That would be a shame since I didn't think you can make a decent meal without lots of garlic.
I searched the fridge for a jar of minced garlic. I must be out. But I knew I had some garlic powder. I searched the spice rack. Cool, almost a full container. I twisted of the top carefully and sniffed. Nothing. I sprinkled a bit onto my finger. Still, there was no burning sensation or whatever is supposed to happen when a Vampire came into contact with garlic. Alright, one myth blown.
What about crosses and religious artifacts? I had a cross on a necklace in my jewelry box. I hurried back to my bedroom and retrieved my jewelry box. I reached inside and instantly felt a jolt of fire. It wasn't the cross; it was my silver loop earrings. Oh hell no! I couldn't wear silver anymore? I had spent serious money on my jewelry, and I couldn't wear half of it?
After the burning fingers I was too scared to even think about touching a cross. Silver hurt too much...what about sunlight? It was dark out, just after nine at night. With relief I decided to test that in the morning. My burned fingers really hurt and I kept remembering the movie Blacula and how he had howled and screamed when he was reduced to ashes after being exposed to the sun. I just wasn't all that anxious to recreate the experience.
I could evidently see my own reflection, but could I shape shift? Didn't vampires turn into bats or mist or something? I concentrated real hard until I felt like a serious dumbass because it was evident that I was not even close to changing into something else.
Was...was I dead? How could I test that? I didn't want to consider it. If I could walk around and think then I was alive and I was not going to get all caught up in labels; death, Vampire, undead.
I decided that I had to get real answers and Club Midnight seemed the best place to start. Somebody had turned me, leaving me no answers, no instructions, nothing. That just wasn't right!
Just because I was a Vampire didn't mean that I was going to walk up in the club looking jacked up. I dressed in a black silk shirt. I wasn't too messed up in the head to remember that my boobs were newly perky so I went braless. I slipped on black pants and pulled on my low heeled boots in case I would need to do some running.
I didn't need any make-up but I put on some lipstick and quickly styled my highlighted hair. I couldn't walk into the club with no jewelry, so using an emery board I fished out a black choker made of strips of leather and polished, black wood. Then I spritzed myself with So Sexy perfume. I looked nice and everything. But I couldn't get those friggin' teeth to go back in! I guess I would have to do the Mona Lisa smile.
By the time I got to the club, it was nicely crowded. The DJ was cranking the new joint by Twista and the dance floor was crowded. I've always held my own in any environment, but tonight, I no sooner entered the club before I had the attention of half a dozen brotha's!
Under any other circumstance I would have eaten it up, but I did not want the attention and wished that they would go about their business. I spent more time declining invitations to dance then I had an opportunity to look for Mr. Rasta man.
I suddenly felt a tingling that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention. I looked around quickly, ignoring the guy that was trying to holla.
Across the dance floor was a man so out of place I'm surprised I hadn't noticed him before. Club Midnight was a dance club but this man looked as if he would be more at home at the Country Club or something.
He was blonde hair and blue eyed, wearing dark pants and a white shirt and black tie. If he weren't Caucasian, I would say that he looked like a follower of the Nation of Islam! I guessed his age at mid-thirties and he was damn pale. Instantly, I knew that he was like me; a Vampire.
"Hey, Sista, where you going?" I ignored the guy who was talking to me and headed across the room. For the first time I felt fear. It was evident that this pale man was all-eyes-on me.
"Who are you?" I asked when I was two feet from him.
He nodded his head slightly in a way of greeting. "My name is not important. You know what I am. We hoped you would return here-"
"We?"
"Yes. You have many questions. I have answers. If you will follow me?" The last was a question.
Oh I had questions. But I wasn't just going to follow Dude. That was what got me into this mess in the first place!
"Look, I need some answers but I'm not going anywhere. Can we talk here?"
"It's very loud here, and crowded." He paused. "There's much you need to understand..."
Against my better judgment I reluctantly followed him outside. Someone caught my arm.
"Sister, what's up with that? How you goin' to go off with-"
I didn't even see my Vampire escort move from ahead of me. He was just suddenly there, and the guy that had been trying to holla was suddenly on his knees. His wrist was being twisted at a very awkward angle. I heard a snap, and then the vampire had moved on before anyone was the wiser.
In shock I followed until we were at my car. "You drive. I'll tell you where to go.”
"Will you just tell me your name?" I said before letting him into my car.
He looked at me. "William."
"William. Who is this ‘we’ that is looking for me?"
"The Council."
"What Council?"
"The Council of the Neratomay, of course. Please, the hour grows late and there is much to discuss."
I unlocked the door and we both got inside.
William led me across town to an affluent neighborhood. We took a lot of twists and turns and I had no idea how I would ever find my way out of the place. I shot a lot of questions at William but I only got, more or less, his name, rank and serial number.
After a while we finally arrived. The house we pulled up to was huge! We got out of the car and I paused long enough to stare, feeling a strange foreboding.
"William, I don't know about this..."
"The Council is waiting." He said unsympathetically. Then he headed to the house.
The door opened before William even knocked. He must have known it would because he just kept walking as if he weren't in jeopardy of cracking his nose. I followed looking around suspiciously.
"Follow me," he said, as if I had any other choice.
The foyer looked like something out of a movie with its crystal chandelier and marble floors. William opened a set of doors that led into a room elegantly decorated in jewel tones. He fit right in here. But me in my all black felt totally out of place.