"So, John-"
"Jack, actually. Call me Jack."
"Okay, Jack. What have you been up to these past hundred years?"
Jack took a deep breath. What a strange question. How did one go about catching up on a century?
"Well, not sleeping, obviously. I tried every drug they've come up with, both legal and illegal, to see if it would counter the curse. No luck. I made a little money here and there. I skipped the past few wars. I did lend a hand in World War II, though. I’m not humanity’s biggest fan, but didn’t really want to see Adolf Hitler running the show."
Victoria shook her head. "You know, you’re still human. Just because you’re cursed, doesn’t mean you’re not human."
Jack smirked. She always knew what he was capable of, but didn’t know some of the things he’d done over the past century.
"Try not sleeping for two hundred years, and see how human you feel," he said.
She simply nodded. "Anyway, I know what you mean. I helped out in that war, too. Did you know that one of Hitler’s aids-"
"Was a witch. Yeah, I know."
Victoria was quiet a moment as awkwardness settled between them.
"Well, half-witch," she said. "Only a half-blood."
Jack scoffed. "Like that would have mattered to you. All witches have to die, right?"
She leaned back, like she’d been slapped across the face.
"Wow. One hundred years. You can really hold a grudge, can’t you? Do you really want to fight about this?"
Jack shot up from his chair and paced in the kitchen. Events rushed back to him like it was yesterday. He was again by the river outside Monterrey, looking down at Annie's lifeless corpse.
"That was my chance, Victoria. My one chance. You took it from me, just like that. You picked the town of Monterrey over me. I was supposed to be your best friend."
"I...no, we, saved that town."
"And what good did it do? They're all dead now."
"It wasn't just that town, Jack. That witch…she was going to poison the water. Who knows how many lives we really saved?"
"Are you not listening? None of that matters. They're all dead now. But I'm still stuck here."
Victoria stood up as well, keeping her hands frozen on the counter.
"There you go again," she said. "Thinking only about yourself."
"And this surprises you?"
"You can't see the big picture. You can't see that those people we saved had families, and then those families had families."
"Just like cockroaches."
"My point is...we saved thousands of lives. We did a good thing, and you should be proud. But no, not you. You're so miserable, always whining about your curse. I've been alive twice as long as you, and I enjoy life."
Jack stopped pacing and held her gaze. The tension in the room was thickening.
"Do you really want to compare conditions? Do you really want to compare being a vampire with never sleeping, never dying, never resting? Hell, the sun doesn't even bother you anymore."
"I told you before, you are who you choose to be. And you choose to be a sad, lonely asshole. I'm not gonna sit here and talk about who has it worse, like children. Your problem, if we're gonna cut right through the bullshit, is that a woman you cared about hurt you, and you never recovered. Two hundred years, and you can't let it go. You haven’t learned anything."
He smiled at the roundabout mention of Angela. Waving her off, he looked into her green eyes again.
"Cutting through the bullshit, are we? You didn't kill that witch to save Monterrey."
"Oh, is that so? Tell me then, why did I do it?"
"Because you were afraid to be alone."
Victoria blinked and stood upright. She was an expert at hiding her emotions. They both were. But they had known each other too long. Jack watched as she clenched her right hand, only for a moment, and rubbed her fingers together. A sure sign she was upset.
"I told you that I was ready to accept death," he continued. "I had my will together and everything. You weren't ready for that. For the first time, you had an immortal friend that had been at your side for a century. You weren't ready to let that go. You killed that witch because of your own selfishness."
The vampire was quiet, her face going blank. A few tense seconds passed. Finally, she leaned on the breakfast bar, hiding her face. Jack thought he saw weakness, only for a second. He was imagining things, as he knew Victoria was the strongest person he ever met.
"I'm not sorry for what I did," she said. "I'm not sorry for trying my best to be a good person, and help people. I am sorry I lost my best friend. The twentieth century was fun, but I missed you. I know we're not gonna agree on this. But I was hoping somehow we could put everything behind us, and be friends again. Is that possible?"
Jack said nothing, and Victoria accepted his silence as an answer. She nodded shortly and took a deep breath.
"Okay, then. It was nice seeing you again."
She crossed the living room and had one hand on the doorknob.
"Victoria."
She turned to face him.
"You said blood only. So, you can't eat?"
"Nope."
"Well, come hang out with me while I eat a nice ham and cheese sandwich."
She smiled. "Funny. And you can watch me take a nap."
He placed a hand over his chest. "Ouch, my heart. Good thing I heal fast."
Jack locked the door behind him after Victoria stepped on the porch. It would take some time to accept her walking in the sunlight. She stopped halfway down his front walk, studying his neighborhood.
"I thought you’d be in a mansion somewhere, surrounded by a huge fence with twenty guard dogs."
He laughed. "Part of the reason I’ve got so much money is I don’t go crazy with it."
"Hey, that hurts. I’m not hurting in the wallet either, and I live in a mansion."
Jack stopped and smiled as he took notice of their vehicles. He was suddenly reminded of their friendship, as silly as it sounded. Opposite in so many ways, yet somehow working together, and even thriving. Her Porsche was parked close to his old beat-up pickup truck.
"I see you finally broke down and bought one of those automobiles. I figured you for a truck guy."
"Yeah. Nice Porsche."
Jack noticed his neighbor Larry outside watering his lawn, getting an eyeful of the gorgeous vampire. Victoria moved to the back of her car and opened the trunk. She searched through a bag and pulled out a short-sleeved tee shirt.
"I’m still getting used to the new attention I’m getting," she said, gesturing to Larry over her shoulder.
Jack nodded and laughed. "You’re driving."
They left his neighborhood. She had the top down, and the morning breeze felt great. Jack had a different sense of hot and cold than mortals. If he was set on fire, or exposed to extreme cold, he’d feel it for only a second. Then he’d go numb, and not feel anything. Still, he could enjoy a nice breeze.
He guided her away from the neighborhood deeper into town. Victoria frowned as the beach setting faded into a more urban type. The scent of saltwater was still in the air, but the tourists were all gone, and more shady types hung out on the street corners.
"Where the hell are you taking me?"
"To the best sandwich place ever. Just relax."
They ended up parking outside a corner convenience store. Victoria looked around as she slid from behind the wheel. There was a McDonald’s across the street, and next to it a shopping mall. A Royal Farms was not even a block away. The corner convenience store didn’t fit.
"How the hell does this place stay open?"
"Because I own it."
"You’re kidding."
"Nope. I own a lot of things."
"Jack, I know a little about making money, too. There’s no way you make a profit off this place."
He held his index finger and thumb an inch apart. "Just a small one. Like I said, the best sandwich you’ll ever eat. They wanted
to buy this place out when they put up the mall. I wouldn’t let them."
Jack led Victoria inside the store. It was empty of customers, like he thought it would be. The elderly Mister Soon stood behind the counter while his wife swept the floor. They were Korean, and never did completely master the English language. Mister Soon was easy to talk to, but his wife spoke no English. Jack loved the way they looked at each other, like they were still newlyweds. Soon and his wife always reminded him there were still good people left in the world.
Soon's eyes lit up when he saw Jack.
"Mister Jack? Is that you? How many years?"
Jack smiled broadly. "Ten years, I think? How have you been?"
Mrs. Soon laughed and cheered as she dropped her broom and rushed to embrace Jack. He winced and prepared himself. Victoria tried to hold in her laughter as the older woman wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek.
"You haven't aged," Mister Soon said. "What is the secret?"
"Lots and lots of sex."
Mrs. Soon understood that word, and her cheeks turned red. Mr. Soon laughed and gestured to Victoria.
"With this lovely lady?"
"Her? No, no. I'd like you to meet Victoria, one of my oldest friends."
Victoria shook hands with the elderly couple, and even got a hug from Mrs. Soon.
"Are you living in Parkville now, Mister Jack?"
"Soon, come on. It's just Jack. And yeah, not too far from the beach. So I'll be in here a lot."
"You want a sandwich?"
"Ah, finally, we're getting to the good stuff."
Ten minutes later Jack and Victoria were leaving the store. It took him that long to convince Soon that even though he owned the store, Soon still had to take his money. He had a ham and cheese sandwich and a bottled soda. She couldn't get the smile off her face as they climbed back in her car. The elderly couple stood in the doorway and waved goodbye.
"What are you so happy about?" he asked as they stopped at a red light.
"Jack, you actually...care about that old couple, don't you?"
"People come and go. What I care about is this sandwich. No one puts them together like Soon. Now, go back six blocks and take a left. We're heading to Cromfield Park."
Victoria simply smiled and followed Jack's direction.
*****
It was the second time Jack had been in the park that day. Victoria sat next to him, her legs stretched out. They watched the people in the park as they enjoyed the early afternoon. She leaned her head back and offered herself to the sun. He was finishing up his sandwich and drinking his soda.
"Part of what you said is true," she said. "You were like a brother to me, and I wasn’t ready to let you go. But I didn’t kill Annie because of that."
"I know. You’re a regular Girl Scout."
Jack was quiet for a moment. There were so many things to talk about, but his mind was blank. He was glad Victoria was next to him. His life felt right again. She was the closest thing to family he had.
"So, are you seeing anyone?" he asked. "How's the old bloodsucking love-life treating you these days? Hopefully better than that Daniel fellow back in Idaho."
Victoria winced at one of the worst relationships she ever had. Daniel had incredible stalker skills, even for a human, in a time when spy technology didn't exist.
"I took a few decades off, but I am seeing someone. A vampire hunter, believe it or not."
Jack laughed. "How does that work? I'll bet doggy-style is out of the question. Gotta keep an eye on him, in case he tries to stake you."
"Real funny, Jack. How about you?"
"This is me we're talking about. Nothing steady here. I'll hit up the occasional one-nighter, but that's about it. One time, I got with this woman, and-"
She held up a hand. "Enough. One-nighter. Real classy."
"Never, ever at my place. Always at theirs. That’s one of the better things about never sleeping. One-nighters are easy. I just lay in bed until they fall asleep, and then slip away like a ninja. The last lady I had my eye on was back in Chicago. But that didn’t pan out."
"Would that have anything to do with you killing three bank robbers?"
He waited for a couple jogging to move out of earshot before speaking.
"What can I say? I'm famous."
She nodded. "Imagine my surprise when I saw your name and picture popping up on the Internet."
"I tried my best to avoid those fifteen minutes, but the Internet is a damn monster these days. Speaking of showing up on the Internet, you want to tell me what you were doing running around Baltimore with a bunch of vampires at Camden Yards?"
Victoria glanced at him. "You saw that?"
"Oh yeah, the whole terror thing. The government really stepped up on that one."
She was quiet. There was so much to tell him. The vampire virus that nearly overtook Baltimore, the cover-up that followed, her new supernatural friends. If it weren’t for Alex Teague, the half-demon, and the ghost of her old cop friend, William, they might not be sitting in the park having a conversation. Cell phone videos of the vampire attack at Baltimore popped up all over You Tube for a while before mysteriously disappearing, and Victoria was in a few of them.
So much had happened in her life in the past year and a half. It would be fun catching Jack up.
"I’m not sure I want to know," he said.
"Believe me, it was definitely a...unique experience."
He laughed, and tossed his trash in the bin next to him.
"You want to catch a movie?" he asked. "I don’t exactly run with a lot of plans these days."
"That’s a great idea," she said, her lip curling into a smile. "Maybe there’s a Chaplin movie playing."
"Yeah. I’ll try not to beat up anyone in front of us this time."
CHAPTER 6
It was nearly eleven o’clock at night when Victoria parked in front of Jack’s house. She shook her head as the pair headed toward the front door.
"I can’t believe you," she said.
"Hey, the guy wouldn’t stop talking during the movie."
"So you dump popcorn on him?"
"He shut up after that, didn’t he? At least I didn’t knock him out."
"Yeah, I guess I should be proud of you. I’m amazed you got through dinner without causing a scene."
"Are you kidding me? I’m not the one who sank my fangs into our waiter in full view of an entire restaurant."
"And no one even noticed, did they? Subtlety, Jack. You should get a dictionary."
"I did, once. I didn’t like all the words, so I set it on fire."
She laughed as he unlocked the door and held it open for her.
"Anyway, never do that again," he said. "That guy’s erection was two feet away from me. Not a cool feeling at all."
"I can’t help it how aroused mortals get during a feeding. Anyway, that was your fault. We go to a restaurant surrounded by people eating. Of course I’m gonna get thirsty."
"Well, next time ask for a waitress. If that was a woman, that might have been hot."
"You pervert."
Jack turned on the TV as he stepped into the living room, for background noise. He was accustomed to spending every single day alone. Victoria visiting was a welcome change. It took a hundred years, but he was glad they reconciled. He knew she wasn’t in Parkville just to see him, but would enjoy her company as long as he could.
"How about this past century?" Victoria said as she sat at the breakfast bar. "Landing on the moon. Computers. Fashion getting more revealing."
Jack poured himself a glass of water.
"I'm all over the revealing fashion thing. I see you've taken to it quite nicely."
She batted her eyes playfully and tilted her chin. "Why, thank you."
"To be honest, with all this technology everywhere, I thought us monsters would be public news by now."
"You sound like my friend, Alex. You'd like him. Great guy, but always paranoid about being caught flying around on
camera."
"Flying?"
She laughed. "It's a long story. Let's just say you're not the only unique supernatural thing out there."
He smiled and gestured to the back door. "I want to show you something."
They stepped out on the back porch. He had turned the entire backyard into one huge vegetable garden. Victoria laughed and admired his work. Nothing was sprouting yet, but everything was neatly laid out in beds and labeled. She'd nearly forgotten about his passion for cooking and gardening. It didn't fit his personality.
"You're growing again," she said.
"Yeah. I've been working so long, but after Chicago I figured it's time to relax a bit. No more custom suits and business meetings for a while. Try to enjoy life as best a cursed human can."
Victoria took a deep breath and put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't like being touched, but she was one of the few who could get away with it.
"My life has been pretty wild these past few years. There's something we need to talk..."
She trailed off as a scent grabbed her nose, followed by the sound of someone quietly coughing. Peering into the neighbor's yard, she saw nothing.
"What?" Jack said. "What's the matter?"
"I think you have someone in your shed."
He stared at the shed before giving Victoria an angry glance.
"You don't have people after you, do you?" he asked.
She rolled her eyes as she put a hand on her hip.
"Yeah. I've got werewolves and vampires after me, and they're hiding in your shed."
Scowling, he walked up the lane in between the garden beds and approached the shed. Victoria was a step behind, sniffing the air. It took her a moment to pinpoint some details, but they were so odd she didn't believe it.
Her sense of smell was proven right once again as Jack threw open the unlocked shed door and turned on the light.
A young girl cowered in the corner next to a lawnmower. A backpack sat on the ground next to her. She huddled under a jacket, her bare legs sticking out. It looked like she had fallen making her way into the small shed, as one leg had a cut and a trail of blood ran down to her sock.
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