by K M Smith
Alice kept still, this time out of fear. “You wouldn’t,” she said out loud again. Even through the noise of the crowd, she had no trouble communicating with the creature, and she didn’t care who inadvertently heard.
“Do you want to find out?” the unknown vampire said from the comfort of his corner seat. “We’re not all as pathetic as Adam.”
Hearing Adam’s name caused her to stiffen her posture. Suddenly panicky and ill, she turned to leave, but stopped as Lacy tapped her on her shoulder.
“Hey, girl! I thought you were trying to sneak out on us!” Lacy said, as she handed Alice a beer. “Cherry Wheat’s on tap tonight!” Lacy’s voice lost its vibrancy, and her face fell when she saw how pale Alice looked. “Oh my God, Al, we’ve got to get you outside! You look awful!”
“You know what? I’m fine,” Alice began, “I’ll be fine. I really am too tired to be out, though, so,” Alice’s eyes flickered toward the stranger, “so, I’m going to call it a night. I’m really sorry!”
Alice placed her beer on one of the tall tables nearby and turned to go, but Lacy grabbed her arm. “Just wait for the girls to get here, and I’ll walk you home,” Lacy said.
“No.” Alice shook her head. “I’m fine, really. I just—I want to go now.”
“Are you sure?” Lacy gripped her friend’s hand and looked into her eyes, concerned.
“I’m sure. Stay here, have fun! Tell me all about it tomorrow.” Alice squeezed her best friend’s hand in return.
“Al—I don’t like this,” Lacy insisted, still holding onto Alice.
Alice pulled her hand out of Lacy’s grip, took her best friend by the shoulders, and looking her straight in the eyes, said, “I’ll be fine. Stay. Seriously.” She squeezed Lacy then, and Lacy returned the hug, defeated for the moment.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” Lacy said, smiling as she stepped back. She squeezed Alice’s shoulders, gave her a peck on the cheek and a playful wink before releasing her.
“I know you will. Have fun.” Alice smiled, hoping that her best friend didn’t notice her tension. She let go of Lacy, turned, eyed the vampire in the corner, and walked to the door.
◆◆◆
Alice pushed past the mass of bodies pressing to get inside. She made it through and turned away from the busy part of the sidewalk. She knew the vampire could easily catch up with her, and she wanted to put as much space between them and civilization as possible. As she walked, she thought about how having someone other than Adam inside her head had made her feel violated. She knew she should be frightened—outside, in the dark, alone with a strange man, a strange vampire—but she wasn’t. In fact, she was ready for the confrontation—her body was buzzing inside. Not an hour before, she felt overwhelmed by the thought that vampires really were real, and now? Now, even if this creature did show his fangs and threaten hundreds of people on her behalf, she was ready.
“Stop walking, little girl,” the vampire said.
Alice laughed. She stopped walking and turned. “Little girl?” she mocked. “My god, you are a bad cliché. What’s next—you’ll pull out your cape and tell me that you ‘vant to suck my blood’?” She stood still, hand on hip, taunting him. She flipped her hair back off her shoulder, and as she did, the vampire used his supernatural speed to come face to face with her. By the time her hair had settled, his nose brushed hers, his eyes narrow and menacing. He held his arms out, poised to grab her.
“You aren’t dead yet because I have chosen not to kill you.” He lowered his arms. “Little girls who are so disrespectful to their elders don’t last long in my world.” His voice was low, his words slow and deliberate.
Stuck to her spot, Alice kept her breathing even and scanned her surroundings. She knew she’d never be able to outrun him, and now she was feeling very foolish for having led him away from civilization.
“What do you want?” she demanded, with her hand on her hip and her eyes flitting between the ground and the trees across the street.
“I want you to come with me willingly.”
“Why would I do that?” she asked.
“Because you don’t want to die,” the vampire said.
“You’re right, I don’t. But I also don’t want to go anywhere with you.”
“That sounds like you’re resisting me,” he said. “I told you not to do that. Lucky for the other humans you’ve made this easy for me.” He lunged for Alice and grabbed her torso with one strong arm, pinning her arms to her side. He used his free hand to pull her hair off her neck, revealing her jugular. She squirmed and screamed as he held her, but she was no match for him. He plunged his fangs into her neck and began to suck the life-force from her. She went limp, and a moment later her heartbeat began to slow.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Adam
Wandering around aimlessly after his awkward encounter with Alice, Adam discovered his feet had taken him in the direction of the fraternities. There must be some reason his feet wanted to go there. Probably because college girls are easy. He smirked as he strode up to a line of students waiting to get into a party at the Sigma Chi house. His gait and demeanor shifted significantly once he’d settled on a location; he held his chin high, but low enough to allow his eyes to smolder, he puffed his chest out, but not too far out, and he threw charismatic vibes around him as he moved. As he drew nearer, the wind picked up just enough to cause people to look up as they waited in line. Adam turned on his magnetism as he approached a group of young women near the door. They were all dressed similarly, in the least amount of clothing placed strategically to keep them warm enough while waiting outside on a frigid night but baring enough skin and showing off enough of their curves to ensure the college boys will notice them instead of their friends. Ah, yes, I’m all for a little female competitiveness. He ran a hand through his hair and feigned disinterest as he moved past the hyper-aware, high maintenance group.
A brunette wearing cutoff jeans, cowboy boots and a low-cut, figure-hugging t-shirt locked eyes with him as he glided by. He held her stare only briefly, then winked and carried on, walking past the young woman and her friends, both hands in his pockets, confidence oozing from him with every step.
Got one. He looked down and smiled to himself. The brunette would make excuses to her friends, and she would “run into him” shortly. He didn’t have to read minds to know where this was going.
A short while later, Adam stood resting against a tree down the hill from the fraternity houses, on the fringe of campus.
“Hey,” the brunette called and smiled, her boots crunching on the ground as she walked. She had her arms wrapped around her torso in a vain effort to create warmth. “What are you doing down here?”
“I think the better question is what are you doing down here?” he said. Using his backside to push himself away from the tree, he walked toward her, his eyes on her the entire time.
The woman shivered in the frigid night air. As she walked toward Adam, her tight, tense muscles and hard stare melted, giving way to soft, smoldering features and a seductive posture. Adam watched the change in her demeanor and dipped into her mind to catch a glimpse of her thoughts.
My god, it’s dark out here. I’m so fucking cold. I should’ve worn jeans. And a sweater. Shit, and gloves, too! Damn, this guy is hot. Maybe I can get him to warm me up a little. She inhaled deeply, and her chest rose, her cleavage bouncing invitingly. Adam enjoyed the show, and her inner monologue, and let a smirk form on his lips to let her know he was enjoying it.
She dropped her arms to her sides and sauntered closer. Now her eyes were locked on his.
“You want to follow me,” he said, his smile widening. She blinked slowly and offered a coy nod. They walked together, further away from campus, away from safety, but her movements were carefree, and Adam could practically taste the excitement oozing out of her.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said smiling wickedly. She twirled to face him and grabbed his elbow, pulling herself close enough to press her
breasts into his arm. There was no misunderstanding what she had planned for the night.
“There’s nothing I’d rather do,” Adam said, flashing her a reassuring smile, “but first I need to eat.” He mock-nipped at her nose, and she let out a tiny squeal. Excitement bubbled up from his core. They were playing a game, less cat and mouse more monster and maiden. Either way, he wins every time. The street lights barely illuminated their path as they strolled arm in arm along the sidewalk. Dark shadows loomed in the periphery, raising the heartbeat of his prey, and filling him with anticipation.
Calling on his powers, he pushed a blanket of air around her, encouraging the woman to follow her desire. Her heart beat a tattoo in her chest. Tiny beads of sweat formed along her brow and burst, releasing their sweet scent into the cold night air. Closing his eyes, he breathed in—she smelled delicious. Fresh, eager, a little terrified of spending a dark night with a strange and dangerous man. Barely able to contain himself, Adam focused on moving forward until the timing was just right. His victim-to-be must’ve realized the mistake she’d made leaving campus with a stranger. Her steps became stiff and he needed to pull her along their way. “Not long now, my darling,” he said and jostled her so that she was off balance.
Stumbling, she fell into his arms. “Oh!” she cried and attempted to push herself upright and away from Adam. They had stopped in a dark place on the sidewalk, well away from campus and where the streetlights didn’t reach. Adam held both her arms tight to her sides and locked her in his embrace, making sure they were chest to chest, nose to nose. He flashed his fangs and—
“What’re—”
He bit her. Hard. No preamble. No more foreplay. He wanted blood. He wanted this woman’s life to depend completely upon his whims.
He wanted total control.
She tensed at first and let out a truncated screech, attempting to struggle, then fell limp in his arms, the anesthesia from his saliva working its way into her system. He constricted her in his embrace, no caring lover’s stance for this poor soul, and clamped his mouth to her neck, plunging his fangs deep into the meaty tissue that connected her head to her shoulders, and slashing at her skin as he sucked and pulled the blood from her body almost faster than her heart could pump it out.
The liquid rushed into his mouth, caressing his throat; a hot drink on a cold night, soothing and warming him as he took his fill. He held her so close he could feel her heart beat against his chest, it thrummed in time with the pulse of her blood into his mouth, the acrid yet sweet smell of it filled his nose and lured him into a bloodlust-fueled stupor.
He hadn’t killed in a rage of bloodlust in many years. He swore to himself that he would never kill without due cause again. He swore it. It was time to let go. Her heart struggled, and her breaths came shallow and quick making her body an unmoving and lifeless weight against him.
It was too late. No pacts with himself, no pinky swears, no amount of internal berating and pleading could bring him back. These past several weeks had brought up past sins and tragedies, forcing them to a head and something—someone—had to give. The beautiful woman in his clutches was no longer a simple plaything. She had unwittingly become his sacrifice, the object of his burning fury, his maddening desire for control, and even in his immortal state, his anger at his inability to play god. Holding tight to the young woman, he ground his face into her neck, burying his mouth, nose, and cheeks into the hole made by his fangs, a mess of ragged skin, torn muscle, and flowing blood. He paused his frenzy long enough to recharge his intentions, his chest heaving with the influx of blood and energy, and then he savagely tore into her again, searching for more ways to suck the life from her. He forced her neck to bend so far back that her skin ripped and the muscles beneath tore, and even deeper than that, her vertebrae snapped. Blood gushed freely from the tangle of muscle, tissue, and bone as her heart still struggled to pump it around her body; a pointless task, but nature insisted that the heart keep working until it could beat no more. He gripped her by her shoulders and dove his head into the gaping wound, shaking his head back and forth, painting his face with her blood and tissue as he did. The girl’s heart gave one final pitter-patter, and then stopped forever.
He lapped at the wound, at the jagged mess of sinewy tissue and open arteries and veins, not wanting to miss one single drop of this precious elixir. Once he’d taken as much as he could he dropped her lifeless form to the ground. The final flourish of an exhilarating and frenzied display of supernatural strength and unfettered power. He stood over the dead girl, breathing heavily, amped up and ready to do it all over again with another naïve co-ed. He ran both his hands through his hair, tilted his head back and gave a mighty roar, laughing into the night sky.
Then he looked down.
The body lay folded in on itself, a mess of tangled limbs and horrific angles. That beautiful brunette was no longer in there. He should feel remorseful. But at that moment, he didn’t. He felt larger than life. Invincible. He wanted to fly, but he would have to deal with the body somehow. There would be trouble if another human discovered her. This didn’t look like the work of a wild animal. It looked like the work of a crazed beast, a creature that had never had a grip on humanity. The town wouldn’t be able to handle the possibility that this type of gruesomeness existed in this world, so he scooped up the shell of the brunette, tossed her over his shoulder, and ran.
He ran for several minutes through the empty and quiet streets and off into the woods, stopping when the hazy light from the streetlights blurred into the darkness of the trees. A group of tall pines surrounded him; a stark reminder that he was not larger than life, and regardless of how angry he was, he couldn’t control everything.
This will have to do, he thought and began to dismember the girl, discarding her clothes and throwing limbs throughout the forest, knowing full well that hungry coyotes, raccoons, and other creatures of the night would be along shortly to make quick work of disposing of her body.
After he had finished tearing the girl apart, her head remained in his grasp. It felt macabre to hold this last remnant of a human life, but he didn’t want her soul to haunt him, even though he deserved that and worse. He wasn’t sure he believed in hauntings, but he existed, so he thought it best not to dismiss the idea all together. Glancing at the night sky, he searched for a connection to the stars or even the moon, but he found only emptiness. He lifted the head up by its matted and tangled hair, bits of skin and muscle swaying heavily as he did, looked into its lifeless eyes and said, “You gave me life, and for that I’m grateful.” He shook his head, embarrassed at talking to a lifeless head in the middle of the woods, then chucked it as far away as he could. A few seconds later he heard a meaty thud as it slammed into a tree trunk and fell to the frozen ground.
He walked a few paces, sat back against the trunk of one of the larger trees, and closed his eyes. I will not brood, he thought. His mind drifted back to the interlude with the brunette. It was a perfect seduction, I’m only sorry I didn’t go back for more. He shook his head. That wasn’t entirely true, even though he still felt no remorse for killing the girl. A life ending is sad, but it was in a vampire’s nature to kill, remorse didn’t factor into it.
◆◆◆
To most humans, the woods at night were eerie and quiet, devoid of the comforting clamor of daytime routines and busyness in more civilized places. But to Adam, the woods came alive in the moonlight. From the squeals of rodents and the scratches of their claws as they scurried up the mathematically perfect spirals of pine branches to escape their natural predators, to the gurgling sounds of the river as gallons of water slid over large stones several miles away. Nature’s chorus was soothing to an old vampire with a busy mind. Modern human life suppressed these sounds more often than not. He missed the days before electricity, with cars, computers and so many modern devices cluttering his mind and clouding his thoughts. Adam’s favorite form of therapy was time spent alone among the trees. The solitude suited him. Being alone in th
e forest made the weight of all the nights spent marauding and murdering in the name of his own survival melt away. He was at ease and in control.
Meditation over, he inhaled deeply and let out a long, slow breath. He rubbed his hands over his cheeks: plump, supple, and youthful after the evening’s feast. Looking down, his sleeves were bloody and ripped from tearing into the co-ed so violently. Another reason not to lose control whilst eating—it’s bloody messy! he thought and chuckled at his pun. Ready to go back to his life as resident vampire in a sleepy college town, he stood and stretched. The townsfolk should count themselves lucky that he’d had such a large feast—no more nightmares or reports of strange happenings for several weeks. As he started back home, he heard a snap but not from under his foot. The sound was a precursor, a warning shot, declaring tragedy ahead. Stopping, he listened for the leftover echo of the snapping sound, trying to pinpoint its location. A wave of fear washed over him, but it wasn’t his fear.
Alice!
Fear, pain, and confusion all slammed into him at the thought of her name. He jumped to high alert and ran. Without knowing where he was going, he followed the pull of his connection with Alice.
To amplify the psychic connection, he raced through the woods with his eyes closed. He relied on his vampire ability to control the space around him, a kind of supernatural sonar, and easily navigated the dense forest. ‘Alice, I’m here. Where are you?’ he thought at her. Nothing. ‘C’mon, Alice,’ he thought, still running, ‘please be listening!’ Still nothing. ‘Dammit Alice! You’re in trouble! I feel your pain! Let me help you!’ As soon as the thought formed in his brain, a psychic brick wall flew up in front of him. His feet came to a halt and the trees in front of him snapped their branches back into place like nothing had ever disturbed them. Panting, he gripped his head with both hands and groaned.