Kill Wilson (Petersburg Vampires)

by R. G. Lawrence

  Nikka didn’t want the night to turn into a sob session, so she took a running start and leapt out into space, landing softly in the gravel of the alley below.

  Following her closely, Amp was overcome with the pure joy of using her powers. “I’ve never used my speed like this, running and jumping for the hell of it, just for fun. This is such a kick in the ass! I can’t believe I’ve missed out on this.”

  Nikka leapt, grabbing hold of a fire escape on the side of the old brick building, crawling up the rungs faster than a human eye could follow, Amp right behind. Stopping on the seventh floor, the two sat on a ledge looking down into a dark alley, their incredible eyesight seeing every movement 70 feet below.

  “It must be awful not to be vampire,” Amp said, pretending a massive shudder that made Nikka laugh.

  “I know, right? Sometimes I wish there were more of us…but I don’t think that would be a great idea. Vamp politics would be a nightmare. With the egos and thousands of different ways to live that vamps have, somebody somewhere would try to dictate to us. I couldn’t live like that. I like it the way it is. I’m free to do what I please. I’m a badass, and it would take a bigger badass to defeat me. I haven’t run into that yet. Let the humans dictate to each other. I’ll just sit up here on a roof, and wait for supper to be delivered.”

  The girls sat and talked for hours, Nikka probing Amp about her rebirth, and her life with Danner and Riley. As she talked, Amp felt a great weight released, and even found herself laughing as she recounted stories about the trio’s vagabond existence. Nikka had a calming manner, the skill to transform the melancholy of Amp’s memories into a sense of joy, an appreciation of the time she had with her two dearest friends.

  Amp had a hundred questions for the other girl, but the first one came out in a rush. “Do you kill when you feed?”

  “When I hunt, I find somebody that needs to be hurt…or worse. I don’t mind finding a human who I can manipulate, and occasionally I do. Rooted in each of us is the fact that we are vampire, and humans are food. That was ingrained in me 500 years ago, and that’s what I do. Sometimes I yearn for the past, living in the forest, hunting travelers, attacking, feeding; killing. I’ve traveled with bloodthirsty psychopaths who killed indiscriminately. I’ve committed atrocities that in today’s world seem implausible. I don’t miss the savagery, I’ve evolved from the person that did those things, but I miss the joy of the hunt. People might look at my life and say it has been brutal and inhumane…but we are not human. We are vampire, and I am vampire to my core. ”

  As they were talking, below them two men manhandled a middle aged lady into the alley, one of the men trying to wrestle the purse from the woman’s hand, the victim refusing to release her belongings. Without warning, the second man hit the woman on the side of her head with an open palm, a violent and callous blow, sending the lady to her knees in pain and shock.

  “I no longer kill recklessly,” Nikka whispered, almost to herself. She turned her head and looked at Amp, her canines extended, giving her the face, Amp thought, of an angel…or death. “But I do kill when death is the just conclusion.”

  And without another word, she dropped off the ledge, landing silently 70 feet below directly behind the two men who were going through the victim’s purse. Amp watched, ready to join her companion, if needed. She wasn’t.

  The first man that noticed Nikka turned in surprise, and with effortless, lightning speed, the girl kicked him with her right instep upside his left temple. He dropped without a whimper, the left side of his head caved in at a disturbing angle.

  The second man recovered from his shock, pulling a six inch Buck knife from his belt, raising it, only to discover that it was flying through the air and his arm wasn’t working, the man staring at the white bone sticking through his skin, his hand flapping loosely as he tried to gain control of it. His anger was stronger than his shock, and he flew towards Nikka. The blonde casually sidestepped, reached out and grabbed the man’s hair, pulling his head back, and sinking her fangs violently through skin and cartilage and bone, ripping his throat out. The dark red blood sprayed up and out, a stunning kaleidoscope of crimson death.

  Amp watched every move of the act, the violence topped by the beauty of Nikka’s movements. The entire performance took just seconds, but it burned into Amp’s brain for eternity. As she watched Nikka feed from the human, she came perilously close to an orgasm.

  Yes, she thought, this is what being vampire is. For more than 100 years, she had been pretending, an imposter in a world in which she didn’t belong. Nikka was demonstrating by example what it truly meant to be vampire.

  Amp realized that this was what she craved; this was what she was.

  Amp dropped the 70 feet to the ground, her concern was getting the female victim away from the alley without any memory of the rescue. It wouldn’t do for the lady to go running down the street screaming bloody murder about the girl sucking her attacker dry. Helping the whimpering lady to her feet and handing her the purse, Amp’s glamour ensured that she would have no recollection of the attack. Amp easily convinced her that the bruised cheek was the result of a stumble.

  When she was gone, Amp turned to Nikka, who was flinging the drained criminal’s body back into the alley as if it was garbage.

  “That one is dead, also. Are you hungry?” Nikka asked. The bloodlust that Amp felt was nearly overpowering, but she controlled it, not needing to feed but overexcited over the smell and sight of the blood covering her friend’s face.

  “I think I’m good,” Amp said, picking up the dead man and tossing him alongside his accomplice.

  Turning to Nikka, Amp couldn’t help herself. She leaned forward and licked the dripping blood from her new friend’s face and neck, the taste strong and fresh. Her movements were sensual, her tongue covering every inch of the older girl’s face. She cleaned Nikka, finally darting her tongue inside the other’s mouth, trying to find every drop, Nikka’s tongue meeting hers, welcoming the intrusion.

  Pulling away, Amp wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket. “Whoa, damn, that got away from me,” she giggled, embarrassed. “Sorry.”

  “That was way intense,” Nikka laughed, looking at the other girl in a different light. “Kinda hot in a vamp-lezzy sort of way. No apology ever necessary for that.”

  Changing the subject to get away from the sexual tension she was feeling, Amp returned to the actions that had taken place.

  “That was absolutely awesome. Where did you learn to kick…that was so…I don’t know how to explain it?” Amp asked.

  The two had climbed back up the building, leaping from window sill to sill, grabbing onto handholds only their enhanced vision could find. Reaching the roof, they ran in the direction of the hotel, leaping whenever they ran out of space, finally dropping down into an alley two blocks from the Paramount, and walking the rest of the way.

  “It’s called Savate, a martial art form also known as French Boxing. I learned it from its original masters back in the 1700’s. It’s my preferred method of fighting, although I am expert in many other types of martial arts. I fight Savate, but also incorporate a lot of the Kuntaw arts, which is an ancient fighting method developed in the Philippines. I was trained by the original creator of the technique, and I was driven to be the best I possibly could. At the time and the lifestyle I lived, I had to be tougher, more bloodthirsty than any man I came against or I would die. I killed more than I care to remember, but I survived. I’m not telling you this to blow my own horn, Amp, but if we’re going to run together for a while, I need you to know that first and foremost I am vampire; through and through. I am a warrior, and I will never apologize for what I am. I do not enjoy living in a human world; I don’t like having to pretend. I live for the hunt.”

  Amp took in what Nikka was saying; trying to fit it with the life she had lived with Danner and Riley. She had become accustomed to the fraternizing with humans as a necessary way of life. It was all she had known, one of living in the b
ackground so that they did not attract attention, pretending to be something she wasn’t.

  Now she was exposed to her true heritage; the authentic vampire life. She felt something new…something dynamic and orgasmic and raw.

  With her entire being, she embraced it.

  ------

  Amp woke late the next afternoon in the king bed she and Katy had fallen asleep in, the curtains drawn tight to prevent any sunlight spilling into the room. Raising her head, she knew she had her arm across Katy’s chest, but there was something else.

  Looking over, she was surprised to see Nikka, wearing only a pair of panties, lying next to Katy, the two still asleep, Nikka’s arm draped across Katy’s lower back. By the looks of things, the three had slept snuggled tightly together. She was surprised at the tattoos that covered all of Nikka’s back, shoulders, and upper arms, intricate colored designs created by amazing artists; scenes of battles and pirates and good versus evil. She knew, without ever asking, that each design was important in the long life of Nikka Olson, a beautiful depiction of important milestones of her existence.

  Although she didn’t remember the vampire slipping into their bed, Nikka’s presence there was not displeasing; although it did pique her curiosity. It also helped her make a decision that had been weighing heavy on her mind.

  Getting quietly out of bed, Amp went into the bathroom. Vampires did not urinate or defecate, did not menstruate or grow hair anywhere on their body, and did not grow fingernails. But they did bathe and brush their teeth and take care of their grooming. After finishing in the bathroom, Amp came out to find the others awake, Katy sitting on the end of the bed, Nikka in a green velvet wing chair.

  “Hey team, I think we slept another day away,” she laughed, looking at Nikka with a question on her face.

  “Hope you didn’t mind me sleeping with you guys, I should have asked, but you were both pretty out of it, and I had a need to sleep next to somebody. Sorry.”

  “I thought I dreamed that. I felt you get into bed, but I was so out of it, I didn’t know what was happening. So I just dug in. It felt good,” Katy smiled.

  “Doesn’t bother me,” Amp said. “Beds big enough for a couple of more people.”

  “I’m going to get dressed, talk to you in a bit,” Nikka said, nodding at Katy, and heading for the adjoining door.

  Amp followed, needing to talk to the other vampire in private. Closing the door behind them, Nikka turned, expecting Amp to chastise her for invading her personal space.

  “I love your tattoos,” she said. “I’ve never seen tattoos that stirred such emotions in me, and I don’t know why. They are beautiful, and frightening, and audacious all at the same time.”

  “Thank you…they’re a compilation of a lot of things in my life.” She didn’t talk about her tattoos to anyone, had never had a good enough friend to discuss her life. After thinking about it for a moment, she didn’t think this was about her tattoos.

  “I think I’m going to send Katy home,” Amp said, sitting down on a loveseat in the living room.

  “Got a reason?” Nikka asked.

  “Yeah, lots of them,” Amp started. “First and foremost, I’m planning to go to Alaska and probably dying. That’s not fair to her. No way would I let her go with me, and seriously, having her anywhere within reach makes her a burden...and maybe a target. I can’t be worrying about her when I’m trying to plan something as big and dangerous as what I want to do. She’s human, and she’s a sweetheart, but she’s completely unnecessary, and she needs to go.”

  Nikka respected her friend for the decision, but decided to play devil’s advocate, just to cover all the bases. “Why not turn her, and then a lot of the worry would be alleviated? As vampire, she would be another hand for you in a battle.”

  “No,” Amp said forcefully. “That’s not a reason to turn her. She’s a little young…I don’t know…tender.”

  “Amp, she’s three years older than you were when you were turned, and she’s a little bigger and heavier than you are. If you plan on going into battle, her going with you isn’t that much of a stretch.”

  Amp had to smile at that logic, the other girl not having a clue to Amp’s talents.

  “I think she has to go home to Portland, and I think she has to go with no memory of me…of us. It’s the honorable thing to do. I’ll send her on her way with a pocket full of cash and a ticket, and she’ll have to deal with it.”

  “Do you love her?”

  “I don’t love anything right now, Nikka. I loved my friends, not in a sexual way, although for a little bit Danner and I used each other sexually. It was okay, but it didn’t take long for me to realize I needed something else. He figured it out pretty quick, too, and never came to me for sex again. I loved that about him; he understood me and respected me.”

  “So who was the man that killed you, the one Danner tossed in the river?”

  “My father.”

  “Oh no,” Nikka cried, shocked. “I’m so sorry, Amp.”

  “I am too. He was a monster, that’s all I remember about him. My mom died when I was ten or eleven…smallpox. It seemed to hit the Chinese especially hard where we were at. He started raping me right after that. It went on for years, whenever he was drunk, and could find me. He was so brutal, used to beat me until I would beg him to kill me…until I was covered in blood and filth and my own shit, then he raped me in every possible way you can be raped…over and over and over. I got really good at hiding from him, but eventually my friends got scared of helping me, cause he didn’t care who it was, he’d get them, too. He’d beat my friends, my friend’s parents, everyone. They threw him in jail a bunch of times, but never kept him. The police didn’t care if he beat his chink kid…couldn’t have cared…even though they knew he was raping me. When I was fifteen, I ran away for good, was gone for almost a year working in this sweatshop with a bunch of Chinese women. We sewed clothes all day, damn, I remember how sore my hands would be when I got finished with work. It was all good though, because he didn’t know where I was. My big mistake was not leaving Cincinnati. The night he stabbed me, I was walking home from work, and he staggered out of this tavern. I ran so fast, so fricking hard, but he caught me and stabbed me over and over. Danner said I should have died, that he had never seen anyone survive something that horrible.”

  “That is so sad, Amp. I don’t know what to say. Thank god for Danner being there. That’s a great example of someone needing to be dead.”

  “I wish Danner hadn’t killed him,” Amp said, surprising Nikka.

  “Because he was your father? I guess that’s a really strong bond, huh?”

  “No, nothing to do with that,” Amp answered. “I wish he had lived so that I could have gone back after Danner turned me. Nikka, I would have dismembered him, piece by piece. I would have ripped his legs off, his arms, taken his eyes, and before he died, I would have choked that bastard with his own miserable dick. That’s why I wish Danner hadn’t killed him. So, in a weird way, I suppose, Danner saved him, too. Cause my choice of punishment was a bit harsher than a broken neck. Maybe that’s why I like girls more than boys. Girls have a different set of equipment, and whenever I think about a penis, the memories come flooding back. I don’t know anything about love; I think I’m just a user…at least where sex is concerned. Katy’s sweet, and nice, and delicious, but cutting her loose is the right thing to do, before she gets hurt.”

  Nikka looked at her friend, nodding slightly. “Yep, I think that’s the right decision. You are pretty wise for a kid.”

  ------

  Nikka left Amp and Katy alone for the rest of the night, not coming back to the hotel until an hour before dawn. She slept most of the day in her room, not wishing to infringe on her friend’s space, not sure if Katy was in the next room, or already back in Portland. Nikka had little experience in dealing with anyone who she cared about, Amp being the first in a very long time. Her mind told her that Amp would need her during this transition, and she was determined
to be there for her.

  The knock on the adjoining door came near eight o’clock, Amp coming through it a moment later. She looked down, but not exactly out.

  “Hey, what’s going on?” Amp asked halfheartedly.

  “Grab your jacket,” Nikka replied, already grabbing hers, taking Amp by the elbow and pulling her back into the other bedroom. “We’re out of here.”

  “Out of here where?” Amp asked, pulling on her blue windbreaker.

  “Sidewalk sale at Pacific Place Mall. It’s not far, walking distance, and every store is open until midnight. This is like a big deal for me. I love that Wal Mart stays open all night, but shit, I can only take so much of that. This place has Coach, Guess, Eddie Bauer, and my very favorite, Victoria’s Secret. New undies, Amp. Sexy stuff…thongs and French cuts and see through. This will be so much fun. I’ll model for you…I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” She was laughing so hard, her mood quickly passed on to Amp.

  “I’ve never bought sexy undies,” Amp laughed. “Six pack white cotton at Wal Mart. I won’t know how to act.”

  “Come on, we’re going to find out,” Nikka answered, walking out the door. “This is like a great and monumental day for vamps. A fricken nighttime sidewalk sale. Brilliant.”

  They walked to the mall holding hands the entire way, two girlfriends having a girl’s night out. They laughed and joked, and never said one serious word, and the subject of Katy never came up.

  Nikka wanted to know about the places that Amp had lived, and Amp was only too glad to talk about it.

  “I liked it when we lived near college towns. I’ve taken so many college classes…I’d have to check to see how many hours I’ve accrued, probably 500 or so. I’m a professional student, because I never had anything else to do. I like to learn, and it really doesn’t matter what it is I’m learning. If there’s a night class happening, I’m there. Sometimes I’m enrolled; sometimes I just go sit in the class, and learn without receiving credit. It doesn’t matter.”