by James, M. D.
“Yes, and I want to go back to bed,” I answered, probably a little too angrily.
“Bro, what’s with the attitude?” I didn’t know how to explain to Garrett what I had been going through or even if I should. He’d either think I was crazy, or it could possibly put him into danger. The only things I knew about vampires were the things I saw on the movies. I had no idea if that stuff was real, but it seemed like the people close to the new vampire always ended up in trouble or worse, dead.
“I don’t want to talk about it!” I snapped.
“Matty…it’s me, your best friend,” he urged, “You can talk to me. We’ve been through everything together.” Garrett went on to tell me that Jane was worried about me because I never called her once I got back to the dorm. “She left you a voicemail. You need to call her back.”
I forgot all about Jane. I really liked her, and now I might be a vampire. I’d probably never have a normal life again. I know I can use my sickness as an excuse for not calling her last night or even answering her call this morning. But, what’s the point? How could I date her now? Even if I could, where does Adrianna fit into everything? I at least owed Jane a call back. I’d have to see her in class Monday, anyways. “I’ll give her a call. But, where were you all night?”
“I’m gonna tell you, because I haven’t had a chance to brag recently, but that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook with telling me what is going on with you.” I was hoping he had forgotten. I still didn’t know what I would tell him, but while he was telling me his story I hoped I could figure it all out.
“Okay, go ahead and brag then.” I smiled for the first time in what felt like forever.
“Well,” he began, “you know how Julie seemed shy and quiet, and looked like a librarian?” I nodded so he could continue. I assumed it was a rhetorical question anyways. “Well, she ain’t no librarian, bro, if you know what I mean.” I knew. Garrett was a great friend, but not really the guy that cared about love. All that mattered to him was sex and the more of it the better.
“So you got lucky?” I asked, cutting to the chase.
“I didn’t just get lucky. Julie was wild. We did things I had only read about.” I really didn’t want to hear the details, but he continued to tell me every sordid one. I zoned out for some of it, since I had a lot on my own mind. I was still trying to figure out if I should tell him or not.
“I need to tell you something,” I interrupted. “It’s important.” If I didn’t do it now, I might not, and I needed someone to trust with this, and maybe help me find some answers. I knew I couldn’t trust Adrianna.
“Sure, buddy,” replied Garrett. I could see the concern on his face.
I told him the entire story, from start to finish. I couldn’t tell if he believed me or was just waiting for me to get to the punch line, but I just continued until I was finished telling him all that had happened in the last week.
I didn’t know what Garrett meant by his next words, “Should I make the coffee, or do you want to do it?”
“What?” I asked, clearly confused.
“If we’re going to stay up all night doing research on this,” he answered, “we’re going to need to stay awake. So, get the coffee made, bro.” I didn’t know why I was worried. That was just like Garrett, to believe me without a single doubt. He was always there for me. I guess that’s why he was my best friend. It was probably just the stress, but I felt like I could cry knowing that I had such a true friend in Garrett.
We got the pot of coffee going and started doing some web searches. At first all we were able to find was info from movies. Most of it was stuff like vampires bursting into flames if they go out into the sun, or how garlic repels them. I needed to find out some real information, if there was any such thing out there.
“We should search for information specifically from this area,” Garrett suggested. I knew his straight A’s grade point average would help. Once we modified the search, we were able to locate a book from a local author. It was listed as non-fiction, so we figured it was the best place to start looking for answers.
We downloaded the book on the computer, and started to read it. The author told of how vampires dated back almost to the beginning of time, and had been traced back as far as 1814 in this area. Garrett eventually fell asleep, but I continued reading. I found out that for a vampire to turn someone into a vampire, they typically lured the human into having sex with them. Usually the human was a virgin. That way, they would associate the sex as a true connection, almost like love. That’s when they would bite them. The bite alone didn’t turn them into a vampire. The transformation continued on the first full moon after the bite. During that time, the newly bitten human would experience severe pains as their body was transforming. After the change though, the new vampire could still go out into the sun, and eat Italian foods. Contrary to popular belief, those were just myths. True to the movies, though, vampires did possess greater strength, speed, and did not ever age. So, if I was now a vampire, I’d be nineteen forever?
As I read more of the book, I also discovered that vampires did crave human blood, and the more they drank of it, the more violent they became. It seemed that drinking human blood would make the vampire crave more and more of it until it was all he or she thought about. I didn’t know if I could drink someone else’s blood, and I certainly didn’t want to become obsessed with it. I wanted to just be a regular guy. I didn’t know if that was possible any longer, but I knew it wouldn’t be if I started drinking blood from people. The book did explain that some vampires chose instead to drink the blood of animals. It gave them the nutrition they needed to live and be strong, while keeping them more human than the vampires that lived off of the blood of humans.
Before I knew it, it was morning, and I still hadn’t even gotten half way through the book. I didn’t want to stop reading but my eyes were so tired and I couldn’t keep them open any longer. I wrote Garrett a note asking him to wake me up around noon, and I went to sleep.
As I slept, I kept having dreams, or rather nightmares, or Adrianna. In them, she just kept chanting about how I belonged to her now. Each dream was filled with sex, more real and intense than the previous dreams. I wanted to block it out, but it felt so good, and Adrianna was so beautiful. She wasn’t the girl I wanted to be having sex with, though. Jane was. And, now that I was a vampire, I didn’t see a relationship between Jane and me working.
Chapter 5
Garrett woke me up at noon, like I asked. We spent the day out, testing my new strength and speed. We had to go into the mountains, so we wouldn’t be seen by anyone. Even though we were alone, I still felt like I was being watched. I guess that paranoia would never go away now.
I didn’t exactly know how to use the powers the book said I should have. I didn’t receive a vampire how-to manual or anything. I wasn’t even sure if I was really a vampire or if what I read in the book last night was even accurate. But, I tried, anyways. I concentrated on running up the mountain trails, but I was no faster than I usually would be. Garrett had me try to lift a heavy bolder next, but I couldn’t get it to budge.
“Maybe the powers only work when there’s adrenalin,” Garrett suggested, “At least until you’ve gotten the hang of using them.”
It made sense, and Garrett was the smartest guy I knew, so we decided to put it to the test. Every plan we came up with ended up getting me or Garrett hurt, though, if my powers didn’t end up materializing when needed. Finally we came up with a plan that could test me, while hopefully being relatively safe.
“Ready?” Garrett asked, as he revved up his Jeep. I was standing outside of the Jeep, holding onto Garrett’s hand. The plan was that he was going to drive, with me running alongside the car. We would both be holding on tightly to each other, so I would at least feel forced to keep up to the car’s speeds. If I couldn’t though, I could always let go, keeping me from getting hurt. Hopefully my increased speed would work and I could remain beside the Jeep as Garrett sped up faster an
d faster.
“I’m ready,” I said, though butterflies were in my stomach. “Start out slow, though,” I added.
“Alright……go!” Garrett started going about five miles per hour, and kept increasing his speed. It was all I could do to keep up once he got to about fifteen miles per hour. My lungs were on fire and my feet felt like they would fall off. I tried to let go, but Garrett wouldn’t let me. “It’s time to shine, bro,” he said as he pushed down the accelerator. I felt myself panic, before suddenly going calm. Almost immediately, Garrett slowed down, and I was able to stay beside the Jeep. My lungs stopped hurting and my feet felt fine. It was as if I was jogging lightly. As I turned to tell Garrett that it was a good try, I noticed his speedometer said he was traveling at ninety miles per hour. I let go of Garrett and the Jeep, and heard his tires squeal to a stop.
“What’s going on?” I started, but Garrett was already out of the Jeep and running towards me.
“You did it!” he exclaimed. “Did you see that? You just ran ninety miles per hour. Fuckin’ awesome, dude!”
I still didn’t comprehend what was going on. “No, I didn’t. You slowed down. You’re speedometer is broken,” I tried to explain.
“Matty, I didn’t slow down until you let go.” Apparently, when I sensed things slowing down, it only appeared that way because I was moving so fast. It explains the calm that finally came over me. I wished we would’ve videotaped it, because I still only half believed it. I knew Garrett wouldn’t lie to me, but it just didn’t feel like I was running as fast as a speeding car.
We spent the rest of the day, testing me reflexes by having Garrett throw rocks at me as fast as he could, sometimes throwing several at once. I surprised myself by either avoiding all of them, or catching them all at once. I was starting to feel different…stronger, healthier. I knew it was only a matter of time, though, before I would weaken. I hadn’t had any blood, and didn’t know how to get any.
“Don’t look at me, bro,” Garrett joked, when I told him that I’d need some blood soon. I don’t know if I could be so understanding and trusting if I knew my best friend was turned into a vampire. Garrett just thought it was cool though. And, it was nice that he obviously trusted me with his life. I felt the same trust for him.
“Where are we going?” I asked when Garrett pulled off the interstate before our exit.
“We are going to get you some blood,” he answered as if it were the most common thing in the world.
We pulled into a small grocery store parking lot, and Garrett told me how we were going to buy as much raw beef as we could afford. He explained that I had been eating raw hamburgers and that seemed to help with my cravings. Since raw beef had a lot of blood still in it, I could eat the meat raw and see if that kept me strong and nourished. It seemed reasonable, but I never saw vampires in movies or television shows get their blood from meat. As nasty as eating raw meat sounded, it was still a better alternative to killing animals and drinking their blood. Or worse, biting people and drinking theirs.
Seeing the packages of raw, red meat did seem to get me excited. I could feel my cravings getting stronger. I wanted to wait until we got home though to start chowing down. It probably wouldn’t be smart to go at it in the car where other people could see me. It would be a little hard to explain why I was gnawing away on a raw steak, and had blood dripping all down my chin and shirt. They’d probably lock me away and throw away the key.
When we did get home, and I started eating some of the meat, Garrett just sat there watching me in amazement. I felt a little like a freak on display. “I’m sorry, dude. It’s just so fascinating,” he explained. The texture of the raw meet did take a little while to get used to, but overall it wasn’t so bad.
It had been a long day, and I wanted to get to some more reading before tomorrow. Plus, I still didn’t know how I would deal with Jane when I saw her the next morning. She had been calling and calling. I did text her back, telling her that I was sick in bed. I didn’t like lying to her. I really thought she could be my soul mate, but it wasn’t fair to be with her when I was now a vampire, and I couldn’t tell her either. My only option was to just blow her off, and hoped she would hate me. It broke my heart, but it was better for her in the long run.
Chapter 6
My heart started beating faster as soon as I got to class. I still didn’t know what to say to Jane. I tried to chicken out and cut class but Garrett told me I had to deal with it sooner or later, so it may as well be sooner.
Jane wasn’t in class when I sat down. A huge part of me was wishing she wasn’t coming to class at all, so I could at least put off hurting her for another day. As our professor started lecturing us, Jane entered the class. I tried not to make eye contact, but found myself drawn to her porcelain cheekbones, sea-blue eyes, and long lashes. I didn’t realize I was staring until she was gazing back into my eyes as she sat down. She flashed me a smile, and my heart instantly melted. I was so in love with this girl. How could I even imagine a life without her?
We didn’t talk as class continued, as to not interrupt the professor. Jane did pass me a note, though. It read: Are you feeling better? I replied with: We’ll talk after class, okay?
I didn’t like being so cold and aloof, but I didn’t yet know what to say, and I definitely didn’t want a scene in the middle of class.
As class ended, I led Jane to a quiet sot in the quad. We sat down next to a tree, and Jane could tell I was about to say something negative. “What’s the matter with you?” she asked. The tone in her voice was full of love and concern.
“We need to talk,” I said. It was so generic, but I had never had to do this before. I didn’t know how to break up with someone, especially when I didn’t really even want to.
“Okay.” Jane was trying to sound calm, but I could already see the tears welling up in her eyes.
“Don’t cry,” I told her, as I caressed her back for comfort. My heart was already breaking and I hadn’t even done it yet.
“Just tell me what we need to talk about,” she said, through light sobs.
“I just have a lot going on right now.” It was true, but we both knew it was an excuse.
“We both do. If you don’t want to date me, then just say it. Stop being a coward!” Jane was getting a hold of her emotions and the sadness seemed to be turning into anger.
“It’s not that,” I tried to explain. I was probably better off letting her think I didn’t want to date her. I was trying to do it in a way that would spare her feelings as much as possible though. “I just don’t think that I’m who you should be involved with.” It was true.
“Don’t you think that should be my decision?” she asked, though it was more of an order than a question. I tried to tell her that she didn’t know everything about me and that there were things I couldn’t tell her. She wouldn’t give in though.
“Fine! What is it that you want me to do?” I said out of frustration.
“Take me on a real date.” She said it with determination. “Then, if you don’t want to be with me anymore, we will go our separate ways.” I don’t know how she talked me into it, but I agreed. It might be the easiest way to get her to move on, as messed up as that sounds.
When I got back to the dorm, I told Garrett how it went. He suggested I just go with the flow, and go through with the date. “Look,” he explained, “you and I both know most relationships down work out. So, date her and if it doesn’t work out later, you at least got to be together now and not have it be awkward.”
“How can I do that? I’m a vampire,” I said.
“And? You haven’t hurt me or really done anything different, have you?” I saw his point. Maybe we could date, and my being a vampire wouldn’t have to affect Jane. “If it works out and you guys are together forever, you can tell her. By then she’ll love you so much that she’d accept you no matter what.”
It seemed so easy when he said it. I wasn’t quite so sure it would feel that easy though. I did care for her,
and was secretly excited when she suggested we go on a real date. I decided that if I was going to go through with it, I’d give it my all. I started planning what I hoped would be the most romantic date ever.
DING DONG!
I rang the bell of Jane’s sorority house. I told her I’d pick her up at eight and that the dress code was fancy. I had cleaned out my bank account to rent a tuxedo and a limousine for the special occasion. Right on cue, Jane answered the door, instantly taking my breath away. She wore a light blue dress, and her hair was pinned up in the back. She looked like what I imagined a princess would look like. I walked her to the limo and opened her door. I think we were both too nervous to speak. It had only been a few hours since our awkward conversation. Both of us were still wearing our defenses. I was determined, though, to make this a night to remember.
I had spent the last few hours getting everything ready. My new vampire talents came in handy. Without the increased speed and strength, I never would have been able to get everything together so fast. I hoped that Jane liked the surprise.