The blood began to slow as did the old man’s heartbeat. I was getting close to drawing too much of his blood, reaching that point where he wouldn’t be able to recover. I was far from fully healed as I pulled back and withdrew my fangs from his neck.
I could move my arms and legs. Each movement sent waves of agony through my body and as I looked down at myself I could see that the wounds were still open and leaking just a small amount of blood.
With a quick swipe of my finger through some of the crimson fluid that was leaking slowly from my own wounds, I pressed that red stained finger against the puncture wounds in the old man’s neck which soon stopped his bleeding.
He had a pulse and he was incredibly pale and no longer conscious but he was alive and the sirens were coming closer. I could do nothing at all about the blood splashed all around the river bank but I could at least leave before the police came. The old man who had cared enough to try and help me would be safe with them.
I managed to stumble a short way along the riverbank and ducked behind a tree as the flashing lights of the police car appeared on the bridge.
When I saw that the police were making their way down to the river bank with their torches in hand and I was confident they would find the old man, I set off along the river and back to Beth’s flat.
The package for Sebastian was lost, a great deal of my blood was splashed around an unconscious man and some creature had done its damndest to hurt me. Not kill me, I was sure of that, it had intended to cause me a great deal of pain but had stopped short at killing me.
I would need to call Sebastian and I was not looking forward to that phone call at all. I certainly didn’t intend to do it without a great deal of rest and some more blood. I could still feel the thirst and my wounds needed a great deal of healing.
My only consolation was that I could see incredibly well in the darkness. I had no idea of the time or how long I had been unconscious but I wasn’t blinded by the sun. It was, I decided, the little things that made all the difference.
With one last glance over my shoulder at the still flashing lights of the police car, I was satisfied that I at least hadn’t yet become the monster everyone expected. The old man should survive and I had healed enough to make my painful walk home. It was going to be a long night.
I arrived back at the block of flats where Beth lived, well before dawn. My clothes were in tatters and covered in dry blood but my flesh had mostly healed and the thirst had been sated.
Of course it hadn’t been easy to find blood on a Monday night when most normal folk were in bed, but a dog and two cats had proved to be slow enough to catch and filling, if somewhat sour to the taste.
The animals would no doubt be fine with a bit of food and rest so I didn’t have their deaths on the tattered scrap of conscience that I was struggling to keep hold of.
I approached the block of flats from the rear and took a moment to rest behind the overflowing bins to decide on how best to get into Beth’s flat without being noticed. I barely had the chance to consider my options before the stench of the bins drove me away.
With little choice in the matter I approached the front entrance cautiously. It was early enough that no one was around and only the occasional car would pass by on the road. Few people drove through Beth’s area if they could avoid it.
The front entrance was locked but I still had Beth’s spare keys so that posed no problem, nor did the lack of lights that had been turned off for the night. With my superior night vision I had no problem making my way to the lift and riding it up to Beth’s floor.
A cautious look down either side of the hallway to make sure that no one happened to be about before I stepped off the elevator and opened Beth’s front door. I quietly locked it behind me and looked around the living room.
Beth’s jacket and shoes were absent which meant that she had found someone to spend the night with. I could at least hope that she would be in a pleasant mood in the morning when she finally turned up, unless she hooked up with her ex-girlfriend, in which case I would be best to avoid her for the next few days.
I left my shoes by the door and lay on the couch. I was far too exhausted to take off my clothes or shower and since I had no clothes to change into anyway, it didn’t really make much difference.
My first priority in the morning would be to contact Sebastian and let him know what had happened. That was a conversation that I was not looking forward to having. With a deep sigh, I lay back and closed my eyes. I was asleep in moments.
Chapter 10
Beth let the front door shut with a bang that sounded overly loud in the tiny flat and woke me from my much needed rest. I sat up and rubbed at my eyes as I yawned.
“Wow, you look like shit” Beth said as dropped her jacket on the kitchen counter and sat beside me on the couch.
“Yeah, thanks. I feel like it too.”
“What happened to you?”
I spent the next few minutes telling her about what had happened when we parted ways and how I had been attacked on the way to Sebastian’s.
“Ah crap. I’m sorry.” Beth said her face twisted with remorse. “I should have driven you.”
“Not your fault. If you had been there, you would probably be dead.” I pointed out and she nodded.
“What do you think attacked you?”
“I have no idea. It was big and hairy and ripped me apart quite easily.”
“Sebastian won’t have been happy.”
“Well, I haven’t actually told him yet.” I said without looking at her and added, “I also may have lost your phone.”
“Seriously? Ah, balls.” She said, “We really need to get some money.”
“Yeah I know. I need some clothes too, these were the only set I had.” I said with a glance down at the gore covered rags that I was wearing.
“No problem there. I’ll nip to the local church. They usually have a donations box and I can probably find you something.”
“Thanks. Shades would be good too.”
“You lost my shades too? Dammit, now that’s annoying.” She said with a grimace.
“Sorry, next time a creature from hell is using me for a chew toy I’ll try and keep hold of them.”
“Ok, fine. I get your point. What are you going to do about the police?”
“I’m not sure. They don’t have my DNA on file so as long as I never get arrested, I should be ok.”
“Yeah but you haven’t seen the papers have you?” Beth asked.
“No, why?”
“Saw the local paper from yesterday and the front page had an article about a fire above a Chinese takeaway, a missing teenager and tenant who the police want to talk to.” Beth said, “That’s you mate.”
“Oh great. Let’s hope Sebastian doesn’t read the paper then.” I muttered.
“Well good luck with that.” Beth said as she rose from the couch and crossed to the kitchen. “Get out of your clothes and go take a shower. You’re covered in blood.”
“Yeah, good idea.” I agreed.
“Here, dump the clothes in here and I’ll throw them in the bin downstairs” she said as she handed me a black bin liner.
“Will do.” I said as I took the bin liner and went into the bathroom.
I quickly stripped off all of my clothes and put them in the bin liner before tying the end securely in a knot. I opened the door and tossed it out to Beth.
“Ok, I’ll be back in half an hour with some clothes.” She called as she left the flat.
Her bathroom had plain white tiles on the walls and was always clean. The electric shower soon had steaming hot water gushing from the nozzle and I happily climbed into the shower and soaked in the warmth for several long and pleasant minutes before taking Beth’s cherry scented shower gel and scrubbing myself clean of the night’s unpleasantness.
I emerged from the shower clean and fresh, ready to face the world. I stopped at the sink and had a look through the medicine cabinet. I had no razors and felt the need
for a shave, fortunately Beth had a pack of disposable razors that I could only assume she used on her legs. At least that’s what I hoped she used them for.
After I had removed the stubble I finally felt up to facing the world. It occurred to me that I had been a Vampire for several days and had yet to see my own fangs. I opened wide my mouth and looked for them, only to find just my normal teeth.
It seemed that I still couldn’t draw my fangs at will no matter how much I tried and I was reminded that I still knew entirely too little about being a Vampire. I did a mental check of myself in the mirror to see if anything had changed since my transformation from human to creature of the night.
My hair was still the same dark brown and cut short, no fancy styling for me. It cost me three pound to have the hairdresser run an electric razor over it once a month to keep it short and that was about as much as I would ever do with my hair.
Lips, nose and ears were much the same. My face looked to be a little paler than usual and I had dark circles around my eyes which I could only assume was due to the stress of the last few days along with little sleep.
I was about to look away when I noticed my eyes. At first glance they seemed the same, the usual shade of blue. A closer inspection showed small flecks of red floating through the blue. It was disconcerting and something I would need to check into as I had no idea what it meant.
A fluffy white towel was wrapped around my waist as securely as I could to preserve my dignity, before I left the bathroom and crossed into the kitchen. For the first time in days I actually felt hungry.
Beth had little in her fridge that I could eat. Some cheese slices and mayonnaise were about the only things I could find that were still in date. I closed the fridge door with a groan of irritation and walked across the worn carpet to the couch.
I was totally unprepared when the front door was thrown open and a furious Sebastian stormed into the room. I had a moment to cower before he was upon me. He picked me up as easily as a mother cat picks up her kitten and threw me across the flat to crash into the wall.
“Wha...” I managed before he was lifting me by the throat to throw me across the flat to the wall opposite. I heard something crack as I collided with the wall and hoped it wasn’t one of my bones.
“You stupid fool.” Sebastian hissed. “You had one task to do and you failed me.”
“Wait” I yelped as he reached out to pick me up once more. “It wasn’t my fault. Something attacked me.”
“I am well aware of that.” Sebastian said as he lifted me and pressed me against the wall. His hand pushed painfully against my chest and I was sure I heard the bones creak. “I have spent the night cleaning up the mess you left beneath the bridge.”
“Sorry” I gasped as I struggled to breathe, “I barely managed to get away before the police arrived.”
“Yes. I am aware.” Sebastian said balefully as he stared at me as though deciding on whether or not to end my life. “Tell me exactly what happened.” He said finally as he let up some of the pressure on my chest.
I explained as quickly as I could what had happened and how I had managed to get away. I watched his face intently as I spoke as I couldn’t shake the feeling that he could still choose to kill me.
“A werewolf.” Sebastian muttered when I had finished. “I hadn’t expected that.”
“Werewolves are real?” I asked.
“They are, though rare in England.” Sebastian said thoughtfully. “They were supposed to have been eradicated long ago, though occasionally one will turn up.”
“If they are rare, it shouldn’t be hard to find then.” I said hopefully.
“Yes. Someone should know of it.” Sebastian said as his gaze returned to mine. I had heard before of people who had eyes that seemed to smoulder with intensity and dismissed it as fanciful nonsense but as Sebastian’s eyes caught my own, they seemed to burn with such fierce intensity that I wanted to whimper.
“You have until the end of the week to retrieve my package.” He said to me, his voice once more smooth and in control. “If I do not have it by the end of the week, it will be too late to be of use and my plans will be in ruins.” He said.
“I’ll find it, I promise” I said and hoped that I could.
“If you do not, then years of planning will be wasted and you will suffer a great deal before I finally release you. Do you understand?” He asked and I nodded. “Good. Keep away from the police. The governments of the world do not care for our kind and they will hunt you down if they know of you.”
“Wait. The police know about us?” I asked. “Who else knows?”
“It doesn’t matter to you. Find the package. It will be in the area until the end of the week.”
“How can you be sure?”
“I am. That is all you need to know.” He said as he turned to leave.
“I could use some money.” I called as I looked for my towel that had fallen off at some point when I was being thrown around the room.
“You would dare to ask me for money after you have failed at the task I set you?” Sebastian asked without turning.
“Trust me when I say that I don’t want to. But if you want me to find your package then I will need some money and I don’t have time to get a job and I doubt the bank will give me a loan.” I said carefully.
Sebastian reached into a pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a handful of notes that he let drop to the floor, before marching out of the door without a word.
I waited for a dozen seconds before I scampered across the floor to pick up the money and quickly counted it which is when Beth walked in.
She looked from the door with its broken lock and then at me, crouched naked on the floor counting out a handful of notes.
“What the hell have you just had to do to earn that?” she asked with one raised eyebrow.
“Sebastian just came for a visit.” I said and she winced as she looked at the door.
“He was less than pleased I take it.” She said.
“You could say that.” I said with a grim smile. “He has given me until Friday to find his precious box and if I don’t he will make my death extremely unpleasant.” I said.
“Looks like we need to find the box then.” Beth said.
“It certainly looks like that” I agreed, “Though I did manage to get him to give me some money.”
“How much?” Beth asked eagerly.
“Two hundred and thirty.” I said. “It won’t pay the rent, but it’s a start.”
“It sure is. So where do we start?”
“I think we need to pay a visit to Anna and ask her exactly what was in the box and who else would want it. Then we need to find the Werewolf that stole it from me.”
“Werewolf! Really. That’s so cool. You may want to put some clothes on first though.” She said as she tossed a carrier bag onto the couch. “I found those at the church.”
“Ah, yeah thanks.” I said as a blush rose up my cheeks. “Sorry.”
“No need to apologise to me mate. I’ve seen you naked before.”
“You have. When?” I asked curiously as I opened the bag.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she said with a grin before heading for the bathroom. “Get changed and we can head into town.”
I watched her disappear into the bathroom before pulling the clothes out of the carrier bag. I had far too few days left to worry about anything other than how to retrieve a box. One thing was for sure, I wanted to know what was in it and why it was so important.
Chapter 11
I sat in the passenger seat of Beth’s Ka and tapped impatiently on the dashboard as I waited for her to return. The blue jeans needed the aid of one of Beth’s belts to hold them in place but the black hoodie she had found me fit quite well and the hood helped shade my face and eyes, which was a blessing, though the faint aroma of stale sweat that seemed to cling to it was not.
Beth had insisted that I stay in the car while she visited a couple of the shops in the city
centre. She had decided that my sun-blindness would be too much of an irritation, so I was sitting in the car waiting and extremely bored.
I couldn’t even watch the people walk by as the noon sun was entirely too bright for me. So instead I sat in the car with my eyes closed and my hood pulled as far forward as it could go, while I waited.
Being a Vampire was not without its perks, but being beholden to Sebastian was tiresome. Not to mention being almost blind during the day. I had only been a Vampire for a few days and I was already contemplating moving to Alaska to enjoy the six months of constant night they had each year.
Beth pulled open the door and ducked into the car, sitting in the driver’s seat and pulling several bags onto her lap as she slammed closed the car door.
“What did you get?” I asked as I eyed the bags.
“A new mobile each, they’re cheap as hell and pay as you go but I put a tenners credit on each.” She said as she handed me a black rectangle with a tiny screen and actual buttons. I wasn’t even aware phones still came in anything other than touch screen.
“Thanks, I guess.”
“I got you a sandwich as well” she pulled out a pre-packaged ham and cheese sandwich and handed it to me. “No garlic on it, I promise.” She said with a wide grin.
“Funny.” I muttered as I tore into the wrapper and pulled out the sandwich. I was famished.
“I thought you just drank blood now.” She said as she watched me eat.
“Nope. As long as I have plenty of blood my body acts like normal. So I can still eat and drink.” I said as I chewed noisily.
“Cool, well here, this is the last thing I got.” She said as she passed over a smallish bag.
I opened it and looked inside curiously. “What is it?” I asked.
“A new pair of shades.” She replied absently as she opened her own sandwich. “Should work better than the ones you lost because they are the wrap around kind, so block out more light.”
“Now that is awesome. Thanks.” I said and meant it.
A couple more bites and my sandwich was finished. I wiped my hands on my jeans before pulling out the shades and inspecting them. They were black and the frame was slim and curved to fit close to the face.
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